Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
Once again, the “rain gods” have smiled down upon our mountaintop lakes and reservoirs, replenishing them handsomely. Not since Lake Gregory was filled to the brim by a single downpour in 1938 have we witnessed so much H2O in such a brief interval.
Crestline’s 21.04 inches of rain in December, which included a single day deluge of seven inches, was enough to overflow the spillway, damage one of the docks and cause the collapse of Highway 18. At this rate, it won’t take long to surpass our 24.77-inch yearly average.
Meanwhile, in Lake Arrowhead, they received 21.4 inches of precipitation last month, not enough to shatter their 34.7-inch yearly average, not yet anyway. Don’t put away your raincoat and goulashes; you’re bound to get more raindrops falling on your head soon. Hey, that would be a great name for a song!
“Raindrops are fallin’ on my head, and just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed, nothing seems to fit. Those raindrops are fallin’ on my head, they keep fallin’. So, I did some talking to the sun, and I said I didn’t like the way he got things done, sleeping on the job. Those raindrops are fallin’ on my head, they keep fallin’.” (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” – B. J. Thomas – 1969)
It never ceases to amaze me that we pay so much for water when three-quarters of the Earth’s surface is comprised of the wet stuff. However, despite Lake Arrowhead Community Service District’s high price for water (It’s a supply and demand thing because they are limited as to how much water they can withdraw from the lake), LACSD is to be commended for sending its otherwise unusable “gray water” to irrigate Lake Arrowhead Country Club’s playground for the rich and famous. Do I sound bitter or just jealous because I’m neither rich nor famous? Well, I must be semi-famous, because folks that I know and some that I don’t know keep approaching me in parking lots and grocery stores to chat, and I really do appreciate that, even though I’m typically shy. In fact, last week a gentleman standing in line behind me at the Crestline library, where I was picking up a free COVID test kit, told the librarian lady, “Better give him two, he has a split personality.”
As much as I love the pitter-patter of rainfall, all these roadblocks by Edison and the tree people and the detours to get down the mountain are beginning to wear thin on my nerves. Here’s hoping for blue skies and green lights. I’m not sure what this has to do with anything, but a James Taylor tune just popped into my head… “Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end…”
Keep it flyin’, Uncle Mott