Wet Morning Walk

This morning when I arrived at Maunalani I sat in my car for a few minutes, waiting for the rain to stop. It had been raining on and off all morning; what the weather people call rain showers. It stopped, so I started my walk. And did pretty good, too; for most of the walk there was actually no precipitation. Then about 2/3 of the way through, when I was on Lurline just past the intersection with Matsonia, another shower began; I was already under the mango tree so I stayed there. Then it began to really rain! I crouched down under a croton near the edge of the driveway for more protection from the drops getting through the mango leaves; they donʻt have as much mass as a cedar or Doug fir to intercept the rain drops. It slowed down to a drizzle so I continued my walk; I saw Lorraine braving the rain with her umbrella. About a block from Maunalani it began to rain again; I got a little wetter but not so much more that you could tell there was a difference in the wet pattern. My sports bra, however, was so wet it soaked my clean, dry shirt.

Looking out at the weather.

The cloud cover is lighter but wetter than yesterday.

The downpour; the edge of the mango tree I am sheltering under is can be seen in the upper left of the photo.

The aftermath; roof drain spouts and swale with lots of water.

That wet "X" is from my soaking wet sports bra.

During the morning walk I also took photos of some of the catch basins I had missed yesterday, except the one on Matsonia. That will be for a special walk; Iʻll have to do Matsonia rather than the lower segment of Lurline. One of the catch basins I missed earlier (#18) was because it is not your usual catch basin; its actually a grate in a driveway. I also noticed several places in the road where ground water was welling up and carrying sediment with it; looks like a future sinkhole in the making!

Catch basin #18.

Upwelling under road carrying sediment to the swale.

I also saw a couple of wet flattened fauna. One was the Red-vented Bulbul I saw yesterday afternoon; it looked like a dog might have gotten it and turned it over. You can now see why it is called red-vented.

The reason why it is called a Red-vented Bulbul.

Flattened Brown Anole.

Since the rain had delayed me, Dad was completely done with breakfast by the time I arrived. He was soundly asleep in bed; waiting for his next meal.

I skipped the mid-morning walk; it was raining when it was time for me to start. And it had been raining for at least 30 minutes prior to that. And the cloud cover was solid so it looked like it would continue for a while. About half an hour later it slowed to a drizzle just long enough to make me think I should get changed. About 15 minutes later it stopped & the sun came out briefly, but it was now too late to get started, Dadʻs lunch would be here before I could complete my walk and change back in to relatively dry clothes. And it was a good thing I didn't try because it started raining about 15 minutes later; I need 37 minutes to do my walk so I would have been soaked.

Too much precip for a walk.

The positive thing about this weather is that it is good for newly planted things. Which would be good for the replacement hāpuʻu; if the rain could be counted on to continue. In western Washington there would be no doubt about the rains continuing. Here, December is the rainiest month with an average of 10 rainy days and 3.2 inches for the month but those 21 other days could be somewhat sunny.

Lunch today was Pork yakisoba, Seasoned broccoli florets, Tossed salad, Fresh pineapple, and Potato chowder. They have started giving Dad thickened drinks since it appeared he was having more episodes of coughing after drinking fluids. He doesn't like them; the texture doesn't appeal to him.


The afternoon walk was extremely windy. It was also a lot cooler; since it had been cloudy and rainy for much of the day the pavement had not had a chance to heat up. I also found a catch basin that is not shown on the stormwater map.

This catch basin is not shown on the stormwater map.

When I left Maunalani the temperature was 70 degrees F; way colder than I have ever seen it in the afternoon. No wonder I was feeling a little chilled! With being wet from the morning walk and the lower temperature I was feeling very tired today; I also was having trouble warming up. Thatʻs not a good sign for me; it is a possible signals of an approaching fibromyalgia episode. I went home, took a shower, ate, put on a sweatshirt, & headed for bed. I only did 3.27 miles today.

I donʻt think Iʻve even seen it this low in the early morning.

Sʻmores had her 2nd doctor visit. She got her 2nd dose of deworming medicine and started her vaccinations. She weighs 1.98 pounds. She and Chibi seem to be a little more comfortable with each other though still not at the buddy stage.

Ears pointed forward is a good sign.

Hauʻoli lā hānau to Terry, Roy, Andrea, Lonny, & Michael!