Into Each Life a Little Rain Must Fall...

It says, "a little", right?  I'm afraid there must be some mistake, because we passed "a little" somewhere around three weeks ago.  Here's what the sky looks like right now:

 

This is how it looked yesterday:

The day before?

 

The day before, and the day before, and the day before that?   Yep, exactly the same.  And tonight, tomorrow, the next day?  Well... storms, then rain, punctuated by heavy storms...

SERIOUSLY?!

I know I really have no right to complain.  My house is dry, unlike many others, and in most parts of the area, people can still get to their front doors without the use of a boat.  We have had a couple of tornadoes touch down, but no towns here have been leveled.  But still- it gets old, doesn't it?

I mean, just look at my garden! Anyone care for a swim? 



The poor sugar snap peas have rotted in the ground (for the second time), and the broccoli plants are drowning.

Over the weekend, the sun actually came out for about 15 minutes, so we rushed down to the river to look at the flood.

 This used to be a street, but is now home to some very unconcerned geese...

 Goose butts, everywhere I go, now!

Do they really need a sign telling people the steps are closed?

Furthermore, please don't try parking in this lot...

At the confluence of the Ohio and Licking, the water from the Licking is moving so fast, there are actually- er- browncaps.

Take a wild guess what's looming on the horizon again!  Yep, it's time to head back to the car...

At least this little guy doesn't seem to mind the rain...


and some day the sun will shine, somewhere... over the rainbow...

Silly Questions

Some things to ponder...

 

 If the supermoon was so super, why couldn't I get a super photo of it?

 

1. If we can't walk on water, what are the chances we can sit on it?

2. Is it a park, a pool, or a river?

How come no one says, "What, what, goose butt..."?  

Do these numbers seem upside-down to you?  Shouldn't 45 be higher than 15?

If my daughter is engaged, does that make me older than God, or just older than dirt?

Marietta, Ohio

And now, the rest of the story...
         I know you all are dying to hear about the rest of my vacation, so here it is.  (Try not to get too excited.)  Our last night in Alexandria ended with this beautiful sunset, included here just because I like the photo:

Nice, huh?

On the way home from visiting my son in the Washington, DC, area, we decided to take a bit of a detour and investigate the town of Marietta, Ohio.  It was the first town in the Northwest Territory, back when Ohio was part of that vast, largely unsettled tract of land west of the original colonies, which had just recently become the first 13 states in that newborn nation called The United States of America.  Here's what Marietta's official website says about it:

The City of Marietta was established on April 7, 1788 as the first permanent settlement of the Northwest Territory.
Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers, the City of Marietta offers heritage homes, historical parks, monuments and cemeteries, charming shops in our quaint downtown shopping district, museums, trolley tours, and seven miles of paved brick streets.

 The town is really cute, and I loved all the historic buildings and brick streets.

The confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers (Muskingum on the right).

This is the old bridge that used to cross the Muskingum to Fort Harmer.

You can't walk on it any more, for obvious reasons, but they have constructed a walkway beside it so that you can still get to the charming town of Harmer.

I loved the bridge, because of its aged wood and rusted metal beams...

Harmer, like Marietta, is full of beautiful historic homes and little shops...

... and some wonderful old trains.

On the way back we saw a paddle-wheel boat cruising down the river...

... and a dad with two kids in a rowboat...

... and a pretty impressive backflip!

The only thing about Marietta that disappointed me was that most of the shops and antique stores are only open on the weekends.  Sadly, it was Monday... which means I'm going back!