A deluge of rain...

...and one soaking-wet puppy. And one injured finger. And one very happy cat.

We have had over ten inches of rain. And of course, in parts of the downtown Houston area, the rain levels were over fifteen inches, with flooded streets and bayous and stranded cars and homes half under water. Out here in the hills, we just had rain... more than enough to top off all the ponds and creeks, and there were hundreds of croaking/singing frogs out in the fields last night. It is mid-afternoon as I type this and the sun is trying to come out, so my guess is that the storm has passed this part of the state.

The thunder and lightning last night was upsetting, especially when the power went out for a couple of hours, but Savannah didn't seem to mind the weather noise. She sat herself down next to my husband and leaned up against his legs and she was perfectly content. I tried to wait till the rain wasn't quite-so-pouring before taking her out last night, and that walk along the road was quick and successful, up to a point.

After Savannah did all there was to do out in our own grass, she noticed that the grass along the across-the-road-neighbor's fence was filled with rain water.... about six inches of it, to be precise. Well, I guess all of that water rushing downhill like a water-slide was just too much for a puppy to resist. Especially a puppy who has gotten quite used to jumping into the pools at the dog park. And this is where the 'one injured finger' comes into play.

I had Savannah's extra-long leash wrapped around my wrist, which is about normal when I walk her at night. However, because it was so dark outside (the power had gone out just minutes before I put the leash on her) and because I was trying to hold the leash and keep the hood of my jacket up, I didn't realize that Savannah was about to lunge into that deep water just the way she does in the pools at the park. When Savannah jumped into that downhill-deluge of rain water, the leash got caught around the middle finger of my left hand... the tip of my finger got pulled backwards and I literally saw stars. (And those stars weren't exactly up in the night sky.)

This morning, the tip of my index finger is black-and-blue and swollen. I doubt very much that it's broken because I can move it, and I'm also typing with it, so it's probably just strained. I'm lucky that Savannah's leash didn't get caught on my fingernail because it would surely have pulled out the whole nail. I screamed outside when my finger got pulled back, but of course no one heard me except Savannah, who quickly stopped when she landed belly-deep in that huge puddle.

I was too stunned and hurt at the time to say anything more than "Damn it Savannah!" but that was enough to get her attention and avoid any further puddle-jumping on her part. My finger is still black-and-blue, and I can't lift much with my left hand because I can't really use that middle finger for anything other than hitting a letter on my keyboard. This too shall pass, I guess.

The one very happy cat, however, is Sweet Pea.  When we came back inside from the rain last night, Sweet Pea was sleeping in Savannah's bed, all curled up just as nice as you please as if he intended to spend the night in that particular spot. Savannah watched Sweet Pea as I dried her off with a towel, and when I released my hold on Savannah, she walked into the breakfast room, gave Sweet Pea one long good look as he slept in her bed, and then this puppy just curled up right next to that cat... both of them snuggled up in that big dog-bed and looking quite content. Neither one of them moved, neither one wanted to give in or give up... so they slept together for a good long while until a jolt of thunder split the sky and then Sweet Pea got up and went to the TV room.

This morning, Sweet Pea was again curled up in Savannah's bed as if he owned it, and once again, Savannah just walked into her bed and set herself down right next to the cat and they both were napping together and looking as cute as a Hallmark card.