New Hampshire has been beautiful up to now, and I swear I've loved every minute. But in the past few days, this "land of sunshine" has turned into Noah's Ark, Part Two. We've caught the tail end ofTropical Storm Rita, and boy, is it producing lots of water! We've gotten about six inches of rain here in the past few days, but other places in the state--not so far away--have gotten hammered. Roads and bridges washed out, houses and buildings destroyed, water undrinkable, and people dead and missing. Nothing like the aftermath of Katrina, of course--except for those who lost their cars, houses, and property. But it serves as a reminder that no place is one hundred percent safe from the ravages of Nature, or Man.
It's amazing to see how destructive water can be. Fire is intrinsically dangerous and we don't wonder when it wipes out a building. But water? This soft, cool, vitally necessary stuff that covers so much of our planet? It doesn't seem possible water could cause a bridge to collapse or a house to come crashing down.
Remember the old margarine commercials with the punch line, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature"? I guess they weren't kidding, only it should be, "It's not smart to underestimate Mother Nature."
Anyway, how's the weather in YOUR part of the country? Are you waterlogged or bone-dry? Hot or cold? Are the leaves changing where you live, as they are here? I'm settling in for a lovely, cold, snowy New England winter for the first time in many years--if only the rain doesn't wash me away first!
