Standing Water

It has been raining for four days. Except at night when the temperatures get below freezing, it is has just been cold and wet. January and February are normally the only really rainy times of the year. This leaves little incentive for drainage ditches. As most areas outside the cities do not have indoor plumbing, the concept of storm sewers, much less waste disposal are something expected by foreigners.

There was snow on the rug outside my Bhut this morning and puddles all the way along the crushed gravel walkways. On the side roads there are standing areas of water almost obscuring the entire road bed. Port-a-loos sit on pallets only barely above the water with marginal access. The dumpster glowers from its crouched location at the end of a row with bags dripping from hinged jaws stuffed to overflowing.

The wet and shiny rocks crunch as ice flakes off while attempting to roll the ankles of those fools trying to keep their feet dry as they avoid puddles and lakes of water and mud.

Near the terminal the puddles are large enough to cause a major splash hazard from passing vehicles and I head once again cross country between buildings and able for the most part to stay on gravel or cement. The parking lots are seas of mud and there is a coating of snow on many of the containers and pallets in the tranport yard.

The falling rain is starting to whisper against my jacket as small drops turn to ice crystals with the drop in temperature.  Even hiking along Disney’s cement walkway is not completely without its hazards as the sidewalk becomes slippery with ice.

There is standing water outside the office, in the roads and in the entry way next to the DFAC. The next few days may be no more fun that my cold which was kindly shared by an office mate just returning from a jaunt to another base.

I think a cup of tea and going back to sleep sounds pretty good right about now.

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6 Responses to Standing Water

  1. Margo says:

    Cup of tea and back to sleep sound excellent ! Some great images there.

    We had a temperature crash today, from 30sC (90sF) to whatever low-20sC is. One of those nights when you suddenly change from shorts & sleeveless tops to jeans & long sleeves. Perfect night to have oatmeal for dinner (yes, I did!). We are having a really weird summer, but Canberra has so far been spared the floods & the cyclones.

    Hang in there – hope you recover from the cold (the illness and the weather!) quickly.

  2. Beverley says:

    We too have been having “weather” here in Scotland. We had a storm that lasted 36 hours and put the wind gauge in the Cairgorms into shutdown mode at 115 mph. Here we had winds of around 50-60 mph. I don’t know how much rain there was but from the met. office website it looks like about 65mm. I went down into the Dell yesterday to look at the river and it is way above its usual level. There are a lot of trees down as well – some of them have fallen across the river and will be difficult to remove. The wind has now dropped and this afternoon it stopped raining for long enough to get outside and do some much-needed tidying up in the garden. The first few timid spring flowers are blooming at long last – a welcome sight after a harsh winter even by Scottish standards.

  3. Alison says:

    I read that sipping barely-sugared hot cocoa, shown to kill staph germs in the mouth. Not quite chicken soup for my own cold, but it’s a start. I hope you feel better, and take care walking around there.

  4. Helen says:

    Despite the floods in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, we could do with rain here in the south of the state. It is strange to see our back lawn looking green…we are allowed to water now. Steve has put in a large rain water tank and this can be switched to the house for full use by the household.

  5. Carmen says:

    We got done with the rain for a day, but tomorrow there will be more. Everyone’s having the most amazingly crappy weather. Roof collapses in Massachusetts are over 100 now.

    My students often remark on how dirty and trashy their home countries are when they return home. If nothing else, all the illegal immigration will perhaps lead to the greening of central and south Americas.

  6. play zuma says:

    vielen dank fur deine tolle arbeit

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