Beauty and the Beast Newsletter - Oct 27
WOW, What a record breaking and historic storm!
We are glad to report Rob and I are both safe and sound after the "bomb cyclone" storm exploded on top of us on Sunday. It was exciting, for hours, to watch the rain and sustained howling winds from our kitchen table. (Click on the video link below)
We were amazed to still see the tiny hummingbirds navigate through the powerful winds to visit our feeder. One bird took advantage of its sheltered location and repeatedly returned to just sit on the feeder, protected from the constant wind. We also watched helplessly as our last 6' tall English pea vine was torn apart in the fierce winds. Rob finally brought in the last three pea pods for us to enjoy.
After working on our climate change project for over two decades it is fascinating to see how rising sea levels and extreme weather caused by climate change are affecting us here in Marin City, five miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge.
On Sunday we received over 8" of rain in 24 hours. The most we'd ever recorded was 5 inches (overall storm total was about 13 inches, HALF of our average annual rainfall). Rob has been keeping rainfall records for 14 years, and, on average, we receive only about one inch for the whole month of October.
Mount Tamalpais, our favorite place to hike just a few miles away, received 14.5" in 24 hours. Once the series of storms ended, the Middle Peak weather station recorded 26.91" over a 5 day period. This doesn't end our drought, but it's a great start to the rainy season and will help fill our extremely low county reservoirs.
Our mini adventure (not a big deal, really, but fun)
Once the howling winds, with gusts over 50 miles per hour, subsided, we ventured out in the rain at 3 PM to attend the Sausalito Books by the Bay's 2nd anniversary celebration. It was only a 2 mile drive so we thought it would be an uneventful trip.
Rob Badger, Nita Winter and fellow author Cathy Rath (holding her new book Ripple Effect) attended the Sausalito Books by the Bay 2nd Anniversary Celebration on Sunday. Photo by Patricia Wood
After enjoying the small gathering at the bookstore for a couple of hours we decided to head home. It was still raining and, much to our frustration, all roads into and out of Marin City were now under more than two feet of water, completely impassable.
When we checked our phone's tide chart app at 5:30, an hour before sunset, we realized that even though the high tide was finally receding, we'd probably be stuck on the wrong side of the flooded Highway 101 freeway underpass for a good two hours or more.
Debating what to do, we realized our options were limited. Due to the pandemic we weren't comfortable going into a restaurant to have dinner. Due to the rain we couldn't eat outdoors. Then Rob came up with, in my opinion, a brilliant idea. He suggested parking the car near the house boats and walking the 1/2 mile home in the rain. We had good rain jackets (and umbrellas in the car) so we knew we would stay mostly dry.
The walkway under the freeway is much higher than the road so it would be above the deepest area of flooding, and safe to walk on. Once on the Marin City side of the freeway we saw the expanse of the flooded area and the stranded cars. We were glad we hadn't waited for the road to clear.
So glad they blocked the road off. The water even flooded one of the lanes on Hwy 101 causing a major back up for people traveling south.
With help from a kind Samaritan we found our way in the fading light around the water, through parking lots and the church property, and then up the long hill to our warm, dry home.
Worried about the supply chain problems?
You won't experience any supply problems when giving our beautiful book as gifts for the holidays this year.
Just order them early to allow enough time for shipping from our fulfillment house in Healdsburg, California.
Or pick up signed books at our home in Marin City.