Today...at last...steel-gray clouds moved their party to the sky above us, dancing to the beat of the thunder until finally, finally, it rained. The party lasted a long time, and even when the sun went down, it looked like maybe the band was just taking a break and the party might get going again soon.
I hope so. Our pond is long-dry, Lake Travis is at a record low level (archaelogic sites are exposed) and leaves on trees are turning gold, but not from a change of seasons. Some yards are still green - I guess the ones with good sprinkler systems - but others are the color and texture of straw. I believe the images of recent fires in California sparked a different flame here - even more urgent prayers for rain. At least for me it did.
It'll take a lot more rain than an afternoon thunderstorm can deliver to saturate this parched land and get the lake back up to its normal levels - enough rain and the gray skies that come with it that I'll be yearning for sunny days before it's halfway there. But I'll try to restrain from praying for sunshine here, until the lake is full and green overpowers brown ... although I will start praying soon for sunshine on the coast - my annual Port Aransas trip is almost here!
Lack of lake didn't stop us from enjoying Labor Day at our friends George and Karen's house - a house that used to be just a short walk from a dip in the lake. Now it's a half-mile hike (maybe an exaggeration, but not by much.) But there was plenty of food, a whirling margarita machine, and friends we haven't seen in way too long to worry about the drought or the lake.
The proof is in the pictures...our friends' dock that used to be floating in the lake, dry long enough for grass to grow (photo thanks to George Karr)...an aerial view of the same area; everything in brown used to be under the lake (photo thanks to Tammy McKinney)...Conni, me, Karen, and Mary Kay (and Joe hiding behind, giving Mary Kay and me "UT Longhorns" - he needed one more hand for Karen - she's a UT mom, too!)
