(This is not the water in our boundary stream. It is, as many things in this strange year, an accurate depiction of something else, even if not factually correct. The sentiment is completely accurate in this digital capture, even though it is not as loud).

I can’t see whitewater rushing down the narrow gulley that normally bounds the property. Yesterday we could, pale waves on gray water rushing just beyond the fence. This morning the whitecaps have gone, but the roar remains. After the steady insistent rain yesterday, the sound of all that freshwater leaving Refuge Farm was striking. A responsible owner would naturally have slogged down through the soaking pasture to document the storm-induced freshet to document the damage for an insurance claim. Unfortunately, I don’t know any.

Still, it was interesting. We checked the local weather to see if they were reporting the amount of water Hurricane Zeta brought us from the Gulf. They were claiming 1.8 inches fell on the urban areas they care about, which left me to search for the number of square feet in five acres of property to get a feel for what needs to flow down through our fields to the Rapidan River and then on to the world ocean.

Then I lost interest as a rare burst of something large and yellow in the sky changed the color of the day. We were lucky. Further north things did not clear out as it did here. Rain last night appears to have calmed the folks in Philly, and other portents about next week appear to be oriented to speculation about our future. I made a decision to relax. There is nothing to be done here at the farm to alter what is to happen shortly, and the wave of ballots pouring into the system makes our whitecaps look insignificant.

The mysteries may be revealed next week, and I am confident that we will move on with spirit and optimism regardless of what the votes- real or imagined- determine. In the meantime, the Farm will enjoy a relaxed weekend. There was a moment of controversy here- if one had decided to not vote, how would it be counted? Would the pollsters count not voting by mail differently than not voting in person?

Just asking for a friend. The weather should clear, and what could go wrong under sunny daytime skies and starlit nights? Trick or treating is tomorrow- I think. No one seems to know what our Governor has decreed on the matter. I am just going to put out some candy and hope for the best.

Copyright 2020 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com