After 2/3" of rain here the HersheyDog Creek is still barely flowing and that gets us to today's theme: infiltrations vs. runoff. Dry ground and thirsty plants have taken most of the moisture that has fallen and slurped it up. Yesterday the moss on my paths was brown and crunchy, today it's lush and bright green; that's why moss has survived on earth for hundreds of millions of years, hunker down when it's dry and drink deeply and quickly when wet. The ground itself (I haven't done any digging lately) was, I'm guessing, pretty dry for aways below the surface so was quite receptive to today's rain and hence, no runoff. We'll see how long the gentle rain and infiltration lasts before we get back to the runoff that dominated the late spring and early summer. Forecasts for up to half a foot of rain this week will get us back to runoff!
Last night's sky, when breaks in the clouds allowed, was quite a sight with the just past quarter moon sitting right above Jupiter high up in the south. Dazzling Venus off to the southwest made for a really pretty sky as darkness settled over Charlottesville. The photo below was back at my house, clouds were an issue but also made for some nice effects. The little dot is Jupiter. The moon, moving around the earth about 12 degrees per day, slides away from Jupiter tonight and will have a fly-above with Saturn Tuesday night. I'm betting I won't see much of that if the weather forecast holds true.
Pretty good assortment of quakes around the planet but nothing above the mag. 5.4 shake from another eruption in Hawaii.
Time to get out for another walk on a cool, pleasant Saturday and take a dog for a stroll before my normal settling in for the Roots and Blues show on WNRN from 6 to 8. The tomatoes are coming in steadily these days and that means a tasty sauce to put over some pasta for tonight's meal. Hope your strolls are pleasant and your meals fresh from your garden, Today on Earth.
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