Soaked

It rained again this afternoon. Summer rains are certainly not unusual around here, but normally they show up in the form of a light shower, just enough to keep the grass green and growing. Under those conditions, the backyard dries out soon after the rain and makes a lovely green carpet on which my dogs can run as hard and fast as they wish.

Even when the grass is dry, if Levi and Gimpy have a good romp immediately after the lawn is mowed, the freshly released chlorophyll tints their blond paws green.

Fortunately, the green soon fades.

Unfortunately, the ground beneath that beautiful grass carpet is only slightly more solid than Louisiana swamp land. When we have days and days and days of rain, the rainwater exceeds what the earth is able to absorb and stands in the backyard, concealed by the rapidly growing grass. It's like living on a sponge. The ground appears to be firm, but one step off the sidewalk is often enough to sink my foot nearly to the ankle.

There's mud under all that water, and when I let Gimpy and Levi outside to take care of their business, I cross my fingers that they don't get too frisky. It only takes a few seconds of full-out running to cover their undersides with mud:

Gimpy (left) and Levi

As I mentioned in a recent post, we've had heavy rains for days now. The dogs are bored, bless their hearts. They want to play outdoors. Getting muddy doesn't bother them, but I'm really, really tired of hosing them off several times a day, and they don't much like that part of it, either. (Don't worry; the hose is on the shower setting, so it doesn't hurt them.)

The man who cuts my grass called last night and said he'd be here this morning, if the sun was shining, to mow the lawn before the rain started again. He came. He mowed. I was busy and didn't look outside until after he was gone. At least I think he's gone. He and his tractor may still be in there somewhere.

I guess I should have warned him.