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Mid-Western Monsoons
Wikipedia defines a "monsoon" as "a seasonal
prevailing wind that lasts for several months, caused by the development
of a thermal low over a land mass normally within the subtropics. The term
was first used in English ... to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing
from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the southwest [of Asia] bringing
heavy rainfall to the area..."
Monsoons are common in the tropics but this year, in June and July,
they strayed into the U.S. Mid-West. At least they came to Athens County,
Ohio where our younger son, Joel, lives. In phone calls since spring, he
has complained about "so much rain" that he couldn’t do the
outside jobs he had contracted for. We were in ‘bone dry’ Texas, so it
felt as if he were calling from a different planet.
But he wasn’t, we discovered when we visited in July! It rained four
of the seven days we were there. When we returned about ten days later,
the rains continued at the same pace! What convinced us that they were
"monsoons" instead of just common garden-variety rains were the
semi-tropical results they produced.
The frequent rains worked on the grass, weeds and all growing plants
like steroids on athletes! They grew into giants. In many areas of Joel’s
long-neglected little farm, the weeds are six or eight feet high! Joel had
cleared a part of the meadow where we were to park the rig just about a
week before we arrived. But we had to attack it again with the
weed-whacker before we could park the rig.
Weeds, long abandoned grapevines and underbrush transformed the place
from forest to jungle! A volunteer squash plant had come up beside his
front door and we could almost see it grow each day. The dandelions,
poison ivy, and dock weed that were trying to take over his yard grew to
world-class size. Multiflora rose, wild raspberry bushes and Virginia
creeper climbed up neighboring trees and threatened to take them over!
The critters who lived deep in the dense foliage of all this vegetation
grew healthy, strong and bold! They had been undisturbed for many years
before we began to cut off low-hanging branches, weed-whack our way
through shoulder-high vegetation, carry off rotten wood piles, and yank
pesky vines down out of the trees. Two nests of hornets expressed their
displeasure in their stinging way. A snake who had been residing secretly
in one of the sheds showed us his backside and tail. A nest of chiggers
– it must have been very large! – attacked us stealthily as we trimmed
shrubs and carried the rotten remains of an ancient grape arbor down to
the burn pile. When we both woke up in the middle of the night scratching
our feet and legs, we realized we had been sabotaged! That’s been a week
ago and we are still scratching legs and feet that look like they have
measles!
The final indignity caused by the monsoons came on the morning of our
departure. As a going away gift, it rained all night the night before. The
ground was wet, the meadow was muddy and soft, and Athens County is very
hilly.
Bruce woke early, worried that we might have trouble getting the rig
out of the meadow onto the hard-surfaced road. He woke me, we packed up
hastily, crawled up in the truck and headed for the opening in the
pine trees at the edge of the road. All went as planned until the truck
reached the small rise at the edge of the meadow. There we sat, spinning
our wheels and going nowhere. Surface mud offered no traction at all!
We tried again and again, but only sank deeper into the slippery,
monsoon-soaked sod! The trailer was at right angles to the truck. We were
stuck, and it was 6 o’clock in the morning!
Rather sheepishly, Bruce went over to the house to wake Joel to see if
he could be of help. Within ten minutes he arrived in his "farm
truck." It’s a tiny little Toyota pick-up with 4-wheel drive and a
body so rusted that it can no longer be licensed for on-road use! He
hitched a towing chain to the front of the Toyota and to the front of our
Ford 350 pick-up and its 23,000 pound towing load. I just groaned and
shook my head in disbelief as he began to tow us – until he, too, began
to spin in the mud at the shoulder of the road.
I had visions of an expensive professional towing bill, but he was
undaunted. He backed the Toyota up onto the road where the traction was
better. Then he attached a longer chain from his vehicle to ours, and
tried again. By this time, I had closed my eyes to shut out the view of an
impossible situation.
I heard the spinning tires again – his and ours – and the noise of
the laboring engines. Then I felt our truck move; it was only about an
inch but it was in the right direction! The engines roared louder and we
moved two inches further toward the road. The mud was flying in all
directions as that "little truck that could" pulled us right up
onto the road surface! Finally, with all wheels on the hard surfaced road, we
unhooked the towing chain, hugged quick "goodbyes" and chugged
up the hill. It was 7 o’clock in the morning, and, this time, we had
outwitted the monsoons!
1 Aug 2009 - mshr
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