Monday - 2008-0825-0600 - Rain - London - 30 St Mary Axe; The Outswirls of Tropical Storm Fay; The Tidal Pool Outside My Bedroom Window; Mushrooms

Rain - London - 30 St Mary Axe Larger Image A recent photo from Telegraph.co.uk "Flood warnings as rain soaks Britain" - image #4. The very distinctive building in the background is 30 St Mary Axe, also known as "The Gerkin" for its pickle-shaped design. I'm more prone to think of it as resembling an Easter Egg because of the top shape. Certainly one of the world's unique structures.

For the last few days, we've experienced the outer edges of Tropical Storm Fay. There are always characteristics features of such an outswirl: the tops of trees twist in the wind like pinwheels, vortex-like shifting wind, intermittent rain from light to heavy, blown-in debris.

Because of my diabolical allergy/sinus conditions, I can sense the drop in the barometric pressure. It's like being in a slowly descending airplane, as the air is pumped out. The air outside has a lower pressure than the air inside the sinuses, so the eardrums attempt to adjust by expanding outwards. (Nothing like the real event which is incredibly painful. I worked with some who after a flight experienced such intense pain that he had to go to the emergency room and was finally given a shot of morphine. For almost a week, he looked terrible: pale, erratic movements, and very obviously in some degree of pain.)

If you live in the deep south, such signs are not an uncommon experience. The overall effects may be more a factor of the duration of the storm than the strength alone. Katrina swept through inflicting fierce, quick damage, but I remember almost no rain. Fay is not even a hurricane, yet it has lingered for days, so there has been rain for an equal period.

As I've complained a number of times, rains discharges from by back yard and the one next door into a spot close to the northwest of the rear of my house. But it lacks a runoff to the ditch along the street. So it creates a large pond that slowly evaporates leaving a mud flat. The perfect place of giant flying insects to breed. In fact I think I just saw a mosquito the size of a loaf of bread fly by my window.

Ideally, there needs to be a trench from that point to the street. But I can't do it myself, and I fear the cost would be prohibitive. The only thing I can think of it the placement of rocks or boulders to create a very rough channel. The next I visit Lowe's, I'll need to notice what's available.

One of the odd, or not so odd, consequences of the continued wet weather is the appearance of mushrooms in my yard. Lots of mushrooms. Small, large, tall, short, yellow, orange, light brown, dark brown, gold, flat, curled at the edges, puffy, round, crumpled, solo, conjoined, linked.

Pax! Erin go braugh! Je accuse...