Sun Shining this Morning

The rain began a little after 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24. I remember because Asher and I were at the Little League fields, anticipating his 7:15 game and hoping he'd get to play. It started as a drizzle about the time the early game started and got gradually heavier as that one progressed. By 7:00, it was apparent that there would be no 7:15 game (first of five consecutive rainouts).

The rain ended with a drizzle this morning, and the sun is shining beautifully now. It didn't rain constantly all 10 days, but it fell the better part of most of them, with some seriously heavy rain in the mix. It began with the edge of a low-pressure system over the Atlantic and another that dragged moisture out of the Gulf of Mexico. A cold front crashed into that low just before the outer edge of the hurricane hit. Finally, high pressure has taken charge.

I like rain. I like rain a lot, in fact. I can't deny, though, that a week and a half of rain got a little wearisome, and it kept us from getting out and playing as much as we prefer. Early rain and plentiful dark skies made me excited about prospects of good brown trout fishing. Time didn't line up during that window, though, and next thing I knew it, streams were blown out. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Division even delayed stocking Delayed Harvest streams so that the newly stocked trout wouldn't all get washed downstream.

All that rain to kick off autumn is actually really good for our waterways, and I'm glad for it now that it is gone. It provides a nice charge for trout streams, which can run mighty low this time of year, and for the reservoirs they eventually feed.

Now I just need to find a fresh window to get out there and go fishing!