Light My Fire

(With apologies to The Doors.)

It was a good, steady rain all day yesterday, the kind we need so much.  Complaints from the goats notwithstanding, the morning went pretty smooth.  The first day of rain only takes shutting a few windows for comfort.  By the second day, dampness sets in and that requires the wood stove to take the chill away.  I'd already cleaned out the ashes from last season and Dave's bunch of worker bees had filled the porch rack with firewood so I was good to go.  I sometimes bemoan the loss of central heat and air, but there's nothing quite as cozy as a room with a wood stove glowing when rain is falling.

Great minds think alike, it seems, and Linda and I have had chili on the brain.  The night before, she fixed Chinese Chili with beef, five spice, tomatoes, herbs, and ginger, which might sound odd but was truly delicious!  Last night I made White Chili with chicken, cannellini, hominy, and sour cream.  It's a favorite of mine and never fails to please.  We're well stocked with leftovers and chili, like spaghetti, is better the next day anyway.

Snow was reported 10 miles east of Placerville yesterday, so we've got a great kickoff to the season.  With just the little rain we've had recently, the fields have taken on a blush of green, such a nice change from the dead brown we've seen for months.  One wet winter will not get California out of the drought, but it should help those of us dependent on ground water for our wells.  Rain always brings the deer down from high country and there are four or five hanging out under my oaks and in my woods every day now.

It's been a struggle, but I've been trying very hard to keep my rants and whines about the change in time to a minimum this year.  When I explained to Linda that one of my biggest complaints is that longer hours in the barn overnight means more goat poop to rake and haul every morning, she said, "Ah, I get it!"  And that's enough about that.

It was a good day.