And the rain came down...

Our more typical Oregon winter resumed on January 1, 2009 with a relentless rain storm. The rain came down all day long while Gracie and I curled up in the recliner and watched reruns of NYPD Blue. On Saturday, the clouds parted and the sun made a brief and lukewarm, appearance. We headed to the dog park.

I wasn't surprised to see that the pond at the entrance to the park had overflowed its banks and spread into the adjoining wheat field. But as I followed the road into the park, I was surprised to see the water lapping at the edge of the road. When I pulled into the dog park parking lot, I could see the extent of the flooding. Half of the dog park field was under 1 - 2 feet of water.

Gracie could not believe her good fortune! Water at the dog park - this is the BEST DAY EVER! She and several other dogs played for a good hour in the water, fetching tennis balls, playing chase and tormenting the field mice trying to get to higher ground. All we humans could do was stand at water's edge and hope that we remembered to bring towels. (Being an experienced lab owner, I usually have at least 2 towels in the car at all times.)

I was finally able to coax Gracie back to the car. When we got home, I tried to hose off some of the muck. For a dog who had just spent an hour splashing in the frigid flood water of the park, she acted like the hose water was killing her. Finally got her feet washed off and her whole body dried off. She slept really well that night!