Rain Gryphon

So, now it's Bird Plague time, and the DNR recommends that we stop feeding to prevent crowds gathering. Sad, but the really desperate part of the season when everyone has nests filled with babies is pretty much over, so there's that.

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An absolute downpour last night, from maybe midnight until two or so. I checked afterward, and we had standing puddles in the low spots of the yard as usual, and the south field was rapidly filling with water, which is expected, as it acts as a catch basin for neighbors' much larger fields to the north, east, and south. We let one of the neighbors plant it for free (soybeans this year) as you can't really do much with it otherwise, and we don't need any more lawn.

That was around 2am. When I got up at 9am to watch the F1 qualifying, lo and behold! The puddles were all gone, save one that forms on the north side of the house and always lasts longer than the others. The big surprise was the south field, though. Water would ordinarily stand there for several days after such a rain, slowly draining away through the culvert to the west while more slowly arrived from the neighbors' fields. In addition to being a great inconvenience, as well as a mosquito nursery, it usually killed about half of whatever was planted there.

This time, there were *enormous* quantities of old corn stalk debris showing the high water mark, which was *high* - almost to my driveway. The bean bushes are entirely covered in a thin layer of mud, another indicator of how high it got. The water, however, is almost drained away. Apparently the field filled rapidly, then drained rapidly, which, I suspect, is rather how it was originally intended to work back when it was set up. Mother reports (I didn't see them) that either a contracting firm or the county engineers were out there briefly looking it over.

I'm going to have a horrible time raking up and removing old corn stalk fragments, but I do believe the drainage issues are resolved. I rejoice!

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We've reached the point in time where Olympic qualifying is on TV. The excitement builds!

Edit: And at a bit after two (12 hours), the south field is drained and starting to look dry, except for a big puddle which is lower than the culvert. Amazing :)

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