Rain On My Parade

The weather forecast for today continued to get worse and worse. We were hoping that the rain would let up in the afternoon. We still went to the barn. We had our nicest uniforms ready to go, the trailers were loaded with the horses Christmas 'uniforms' and everything we needed. We held out until the last possible minute to make the final call, but we decided that wet horses and wet pavement would not make a pleasant Christmas Parade. We were all disappointed. Even the horses seemed sad, or at least confused when they were let out of their stalls to head to the pasture. We are still going to get the horses or at least one of them dressed up in their Christmas gear for a photo opportunity on a day when the weather is nicer.
When I got back to the park, I went over to the office for a few minutes. The volunteer who was covering the park for me this morning told me that some divers had reported diminished visibility in the spring. That means that the tannic water is making its way all the way into the spring from the river. I wish that the water would stop rising, but all of the rain we are experiencing now is stronger and heavier north of us. That means it will all come here and raise the river even more. I will consult with my manager and make the decision tomorrow whether to close the spring for swimming and diving for the time being. The dark water is a safety concern and if it looks like it will get any worse, we will have to close it. The park will remain open, but no one will be permitted to get in the water.
I ventured out with the umbrella to get a few photos of the water to share. The wind was blowing so hard that you almost can't see the droplets on the water.



I had to get another shot of the cool tree across the river. I was surprised to see so many more needles missing today compared to the photo I posted on Thursday.  The photo was taken a week ago, but it is still a dramatic difference.  The needles look more red too, but I wonder if that is just from the wetness and gray sky.  I think its interesting how the needles dropped from top to bottom.