Its Raining Cats and Dogs...and Pine Needles

When I moved up to the hills, to foggy redwood country, I expected dense fog, which results in weather that I call "dripping". Dripping is like a soaking rain, except that the heavy drops fall not directly from the clouds but from the ends of the redwood tree branches.

I did not expect to need a four wheel drive vehicle to get through three inches of "green" that fell yesterday, a particularly windy day. Small redwood twigs and branches littered the ten miles of skyway I take to get home. In some places I had to drive on the wrong side of the road, or slow to 10 miles an hour, there was so much debris on the road. And still, I got stuck - with a large branch that got jammed in my undercarriage for the last two miles of my drive home.

Seeing the road covered in several inches of greenery was bizarre to say the least. I felt like I had landed in one of Dr. Seuss' books.

I fully expect that winter storms are a comin' my way, with wild rain and wind, and the inevitable fallen trees blocking the road. There may be mud and rock slides and even roadway washouts. I am expecting these.

I just did not expect pine needles to be a hindrance to my commute.