Got an ark?

We've had more rain than we needed. Or rather more rain than we needed in one day. Everything here was soaked beyond belief, and only with careful attention to the rain showers' on-and-off pattern was I able to get Savannah walked without needing a boat to get up and down the road.

There hasn't been one rain drop out here today, but parts of the Houston area are still trying to cope with flooded streets and homes. My husband thought today would be a good day for the dog park, being that the weather was warm and sunny. I was going to suggest that we wait till the end of the week, but he wanted to get away from his computer, and Savannah saw Gary putting on a baseball cap which is her signal that a car ride is about to happen. So off we went, with one happy dog sitting in the back seat and hanging her head out the window to catch a breeze.

The dog park was a blessed mess. The gravel walkways had been inundated with all of that rain and the grass and debris that the rain-water stirred up was stuck on all of the fences around the park. Part of the fencing nearest to the surrounding creek had completely fallen down, leaving a huge open gap between the park and the creek and the pastures beyond. Big puddles were everywhere, so huge that you would think the park had ponds in all the corners. The swimming pools were filled to the brim, and when we got there, a dog named Ruby was up to her ears in the big-dog pool.

Savannah has played with Ruby before, and they play well because they're the same age and size. When Savannah saw Ruby in the pool, she jumped right in and they were walking around the ledge on the shallow side, and both dogs even swam a few strokes when they realized they had walked into the deeper center of the pool. When they came out of the pool, they chased each other in the wet grass, most of which was mud, and then they ran along the graveled path which was mostly dirt now because of the rain. Then into the pool they jumped... then out into the mud.... repeat, repeat, repeat. Needless to say, Savannah and Ruby had a blast.

We didn't stay at the park too long this afternoon. Every time I saw that dirt on Savannah's white fur, I knew that she'd need a good hosing-down before we could put her into the car. And that's exactly what we did.... there is a dog-washing station just outside the gate of the play areas, and we took Savannah there and wet her down with the hose to get the dirt and mud off of her. Wonder of wonders, she seemed to like it, and she just sat there on the concrete while I cleaned her off.

My guess is that it will be a good solid week before the fence at the dog park is repaired, and that's about how low it will take for everything to dry out there. I told my husband that for the rest of this week, the dog park isn't a good place for Savannah. Too much of the grassy areas are ponds, the gravel is gone from the paths and the red clay that's left is just too messy. And no matter how much Savannah likes that big-dog pool, it's not worth all the mud and dirt around the pool to make the trip worthwhile.

Savannah will be disappointed, but she'll get over it. And I'll have to remind Gary not to put his baseball cap on when Savannah is watching.