Now approaching mid October and it appears the rains are going to
start early this year with some significant rainfall coming.  As a
result, we have been feverishly making preparations for the
upcoming rainy season.  As is typical this time of year, the
redwoods shed their old leaves and the autumn winds carry them
straight to our rain gutters (must be some corollary to Murphy's
Law).  To add additional complications, the ladder collapsed from
under me while I was climbing up to clean the gutters.  Thankfully,
I had only made it to the third rung when it gave out.  It was a
cheap articulating ladder and perhaps some metal fatigue caused it
to give out.  I landed on my feet.  Lesson learned.

Our water situation, although serious, is manageable with prudent
household water usage.  Hand washing dishes, confining laundry to
one small load a day etc. has helped to a certain extent.  Now that
rains are coming, we can collect that water for whatever remains in
the garden.  We are on the schedule with the well guy to have his
crew come out and try and locate the second well on the lower side
of the property as well as clear a path through the debris field of
a previous landslide (occurred approx 25 years ago) to gain access
to an existing well on the back side of the property.  According to
the previous owner's notes, this well is supposed to have abundant
water although there is no electricity back there.  Once access to
these wells can be established, then they can be tested for
recovery rate, water quality and so on.  The saga continues...

We are now experiencing the first major storm of the rainy season.
Although we have had a couple of inches of rain and some wind, I
understand Oregon has been hammered with torrential down-pours as
well as some tornados.  It's a bit early, but the rains here are
welcome and I am sure Calfire is breathing a collective sigh of
relief at least in northern California.  The last couple of years
have been rough.