They tell us we’re not getting enough rain, and I’m sure that’s true, because they don’t lie. Santa Rosa is at 36% of its normal rainfall for this point in the season. That portends a severe drought this summer, and water rationing, and brown lawns, because if yours is green, you’re not doing your part.

What this means to me, among other things, is that I really should keep the high grasses in my yard cut back as much as possible. Otherwise, they’re going to be much too crispy and therefore flammable if summer ever gets here. I’m motivated to get out in the yard and keep things under control, before it gets too late. I’m especially motivated now that the January crush is over and I’m likely to have a little extra time on my hands.

And what’s preventing me from doing the yard work I need and want to do? Rain! Even in the early stages of the drought, it’s been raining just enough to keep me from getting started. Every time I think it’s been enough time since the last rain, more of it comes along. Some drought, eh? The weather guessers are telling us it’s going to start raining again tomorrow night.

There’s a puddle at the end of my driveway that acts as my gauge of this fact. Even though the rest of the driveway dries up between storms, this puddle is just deep enough, and lies in just enough shade from the eucalyptus trees, that it holds water longer. And if it should dry up for one day? That’s how I know more rain is coming the next.

Not only does that puddle tell me it’s not time to start heavy yard work yet, but it also acts as a reflection of my mood. I sort of don’t get along with winter very well, but a few sunny days in a row, as we’ve had this week, can lift my spirits some. Then I walk out to my mailbox and have to walk around this big hole filled with the reminder that winter is only hiding, not gone. And a little of that dark place gets back in my head.