El Niño Follow Up

On Monday, I showed the effects of an El Niño storm on my little neck of the woods. I sensed some raised eyebrows and a bit of skepticism. An inch of rain? Phhhhttt.

I know. It doesn't seem like much when your normal is 20 - 30 inches of rain, but the effects here were of nearly biblical proportions. I started looking for Noah and his ark - I had my two horses ready at the front of the line. 

The next morning, the sky was bright blue and most of the water was gone or hiding out in the deeper recessions. It was so "dry" in fact that my class was able to have its regular P.E. out in the field, mud free. 

He now has three lakes.

My stalls didn't fare so well. Both boys have mud that's nearly a foot deep. But you know Speedy, he hasn't stepped outside since it rained. He is the most fastidious horse I've ever owned. His regular poop spot is under water, so he carefully moved the restroom facility to the farthest corner of his dry spot and has kept the poop very neatly in that one small area.

No mud anywhere, not even on his feet!

Izzy doesn't enjoy the mud, but he isn't deterred by it either. He had mud splattered all over his legs and belly, and I think there was even some on his back.

Wet, dry ... he doesn't seem to notice the difference.

I did ride the day after the storm, but I kept to the neighborhood loop. The arena's footing would have held up for a ride, but I didn't want to test it out. My barn owner turned her horse out though and he galloped around without issue. The footing was perfect for riding yesterday.

No more puddles!

No mud... just wet sand.

The day after the storm, that huge "puddle" that I had to drive through was gone. It was dark when I went home that night, so I didn't get a photo. Here's what it looked like coming home yesterday.

No longer flooded.

There is no more rain predicted for at least another week, so my stalls will have a little time to dry out. California is not out of the (drought) woods yet, so we need El Niño to make a few more visits. Hopefully he'll be back for more in February.