La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
YESTERDAY’S WEATHER FORECAST CONFUSED ME. I read in Spanish: “La calima trae lluvias con barro a Málaga” [The haze brings muddy rains to Malaga].” Muddy rains? I assumed it was a problem with my Spanish. I later read that muddy water would run down from the mountains into our rivers. So I figured that’s what was being referenced.
On my walk to and from the gym, the sky was an unusual sepia tone. I learned later it was the result of a Saharan sandstorm in Morocco and the brown skies reached as far as France and Switzerland.
It was raining steadily on my return from the gym, so I draped my rain jacket over a chair on the terrace when I got home. After lunch, I looked outside and was surprised to see that my jacket was covered in mud. So, they really did mean muddy rains. Later, just about every surface outside was splattered with beautiful, rich, burnt orange. That’s what I had been breathing. Had I known, I would have worn my mask outside.
Yesterday’s workout was not my best. Admittedly, the problem was my lack of patience. When I left for the gym, I was out on the street before I realized I didn’t have my mask. “Shit,” I muttered as I turned back. At the gym, most machines and benches I wanted to use were occupied by people texting on their mobile phones. I got tired of interrupting to ask how many more sets they had and then hovering. So, I cut things short. Once I was out on the street, I realized I hadn’t even done my stretches. I love my stretches. I did some at home.
I had to head back out after lunch in the muddy rain to pick up a package. It took me 15 minutes to find my keys. I found them when I went to the hall to put on my mud-spattered shoes; the keys were still in the door. I then walked in the mud puddles to discover the shop had closed a half hour earlier. I said “fuck” loud enough to be heard by a young guy passing by. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. I smiled guiltily. I hung laundry on the enclosed terrace and had a siesta. That was Tuesday.
Monday night at 10:30, after dinner and between episodes of The Last Kingdom, San Geraldo fed the cats and yelled, “Don’t forget to call Chuck.” “Oh crap,” I exclaimed, “they’ve already changed the clocks. I was supposed to phone him at 10!” I quickly ran to my office muttering, “I wonder why I didn’t get an alert on my phone. I changed it on my calendar.” KB’s roommate, Chris, answered the phone. We spoke briefly and he called out, “Charles, it’s Mitchell, your brother!” I heard my brother in the distance, “What’s he callin’ today for? He’s supposed to call Tuesdays!” Oops. He laughed at me and we had a pleasant visit. He said I didn’t have to call again Tuesday.
The photos were taken under yesterday’s dim brown skies using zoom on my iPhone camera. I like what the combination produced. Don’t forget to click the thumbnails. It rained all night and continues. The mud has been largely washed away.
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EL PRONÓSTICO DEL TIEMPO DE ayer me confundió. Leí en español: “La calima trae lluvias con barro a Málaga”. ¿Lluvias fangosas? Supuse que era un problema con mi español. Más tarde leí que el agua fangosa bajaría de las montañas a nuestros ríos. Así que pensé que eso era lo que se estaba haciendo referencia.
En mi camino hacia y desde el gimnasio, el cielo tenía un tono sepia inusual. Supe más tarde que fue el resultado de una tormenta de arena del Sahara en Marruecos y los cielos marrones llegaron hasta Francia y Suiza.
Estaba lloviendo constantemente a mi regreso del gimnasio, así que colgué mi impermeable sobre una silla en la terraza cuando llegué a casa. Después del almuerzo, miré afuera y me sorprendió ver que mi chaqueta estaba cubierta de barro. Entonces, realmente se referían a lluvias fangosas. Más tarde, casi todas las superficies exteriores estaban salpicadas de un hermoso, rico y anaranjado quemado. Eso es lo que había estado respirando. Si lo hubiera sabido, habría usado mi máscara afuera.
El entrenamiento de ayer no fue el mejor. Es cierto que el problema fue mi falta de paciencia. Cuando me fui al gimnasio, estaba en la calle antes de darme cuenta de que no tenía mi máscara. “Mierda”, murmuré mientras me daba la vuelta. En el gimnasio, la mayoría de las máquinas y bancos que quería usar estaban ocupados por personas que enviaban mensajes de texto en sus teléfonos móviles. Me cansé de interrumpir para preguntar cuántos conjuntos más tenían y luego rondar. Entonces, acorté las cosas. Una vez que estaba en la calle, me di cuenta de que ni siquiera había hecho mis estiramientos. Me encantan mis estiramientos. Hice algunos en casa.
Tuve que regresar después del almuerzo bajo la lluvia fangosa para recoger un paquete. Me tomó 15 minutos encontrar mis llaves. Los encontré cuando fui al vestíbulo a ponerme los zapatos salpicados de barro; las llaves todavía estaban en la puerta. Luego caminé en los charcos de lodo para descubrir que la tienda había cerrado media hora antes. Dije “joder” lo suficientemente fuerte como para que me oyera un tipo joven que pasaba. Él sonrió y me dio un pulgar hacia arriba. Sonreí con culpabilidad. Colgué la ropa en la terraza cerrada y dormí la siesta. Eso fue el martes.
El lunes por la noche a las 10:30, después de la cena y entre episodios de El último reino, San Geraldo alimentó a los gatos y gritó: “No olviden llamar a Chuck”. “Oh, mierda”, exclamé, “ya han cambiado los relojes. ¡Se suponía que lo llamara a las 10! Rápidamente corrí a mi oficina murmurando: “Me pregunto por qué no recibí una alerta en mi teléfono. Lo cambié en mi calendario”. El compañero de cuarto de KB, Chris, contestó el teléfono. Hablamos brevemente y él gritó: “¡Charles, es Mitchell, tu hermano!”. Escuché a mi hermano en la distancia, “¿Para qué llama hoy? ¡Se supone que debe llamar los martes!” UPS! Se rió de mí y tuvimos una visita agradable. Dijo que no tenía que volver a llamar el martes.
Las fotos fueron tomadas bajo el tenue cielo marrón de ayer usando el zoom de la cámara de mi iPhone. Me gusta lo que produjo la combinación. No olvides hacer clic en las miniaturas. Llovió toda la noche y continúa. El lodo se ha lavado en gran parte.
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That is a muddy rain, unique. The time change always throws me off. The Senate has passed a bill to end DST in the US. Now we will see if the house can act.
David,
Eurozone voted in 2018 to end DST in 2021. Then came the pandemic and Brexit. Now, all bets are off. Still a lot of dingy clean-up to be done here.
Some days just roll like that – better to just go back to bed!
Sillygirl,
That was the best decision of the day.
Only in these times do we get muddy rains!!!!! I’m not used to seeing the likes of these pictures from you part of the world. A cleanup will ensue just over rain.
Mistress Borghese,
More rain to come over the next week. But mud clean-up began yesterday. What a mess. The heavy clean rain that followed simply washed it into piles and dirt everywhere. Fascinating.
So there really are muddy rains. Who knew. We just regular old rain here.
I didn’t want to, but I kind of chuckled at your day because I’ve had one of those many times where every little thing that happens is an annoyance and all it takes is an out loud and LOUD, “Fuck,” to feel better.
And the chat with the KB probably helped, too!
Bob,
I had no idea. KB was in great spirits and that helped. I love when he can laugh at me (and SG). The smile I got from that guy made the fuck feel even better. It was a good fuck.
Muddy Waters — wasn’t he a blues singer?
Debra,
I started with a song by Muddy Waters (I’ve included him before) but I couldn’t get this song out of my head.
🎶”It’s just another manic Monday” 🎶 (Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.)
Frank,
And I don’t wish it was Sunday!
Love the Desert Sand Tones and I see you have a rain jacket ~ yeah!
Ron,
I love my rain jacket. I washed it yesterday and it looks like new. I also have Gore-Tex shoes by Ecco, except they have lousy traction on wet surfaces. Go figure. And I still need those waterproof pants.
Love love love these photos! What a nice effect that ‘muddy rain’ creates.
Now all you need to go with that North Face rain jacket is a pair of North Face rain pants……we have NF pants and they are very good in the rain …..and snow.
Hey, KB was very tolerant with you calling on the wrong day.
Jim,
Yes! to the North Face rain pants! Chuck found it funny when I told him what happened. Jerry was joking in the background and Chuck yelled “Hi”. That never happens!
Stretching is the “dessert “ of the workout.
Jssw:
It sure is. Makes me feel so good… and so pleased with the progress. Still have to get a shot of my pretzel. We miss you!
A friend in Munich sent me a photo that looked about the same, minus the beach. Interesting times.
Chrissoup,
It’s a fascinating reminder of how weather and winds travel around the globe.
That “sandstorm-effect” hit here in London, too – orange skies, although no discernible mud in the rain (although the pavements do look particularly dirty). It’s been quite a while since we last had one of those “weather events”!
Jx
PS One of the benefits of Saharan muddy rain is it feeds the plants – even as far away as the Amazon rain forest (believe it or not!).
Jon,
Wow! Even London! Too bad all our plants are behind glass… except that I’d now be out there washing leaves. A powerful example of how local weather events affect the entire world.
In every rose garden a little rain must fall…even orange muddy rain!
Tundra Bunny,
It was a marvel to witness. Though orange showers may come in March, they bring the flowers…
I enjoyed this blog. I felt like I was there walking and swearing right along with you and it was a delight!
Kathleen,
I would be so happy to go for a walk with you and swear to our hearts’ content.
You go to such extraordinary lengths for your sepia-toned photos!
We get that red dust here, too. When I hose down the screens on the front the veranda, the water looks like your muddy rain.
Hope your next gym session is more enjoyable!
Wilma,
We’ve had some dirty rain before but I’d never seen anything like this. Of course it makes sense. I’m glad the screens weren’t in the glass curtain. I wash those down in my shower.
Wow, that is so wild!
Judy C,
And so far reaching. A new one for me. Mother Nature is a wonder.
Love Mountain Time. Arizona never changes time. Makes your life so much easier.
Great song.
cheers
Parsnip,
I always loved walking to the middle of the bridge at Hoover Dam with one foot an hour earlier than the other. Pierre, South Dakota is in one time zone, while Fort Pierre is in another. Seems to work just fine there, too. Too bad not a lot else is working there lately! Hope you’re feeling well!
We went to Four Corners and put feet and hands in the four states ! Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.
Parsnip:
We did that, too, a long time ago when SG’s sister lived in Durango, CO. Then I read the marker wasn’t correctly placed. THEN I read, it was so! So we DID put feet and hands in four states.
Us, too. It’s not the first time we’ve experienced the Saharan sand, but it is the first time with rain and the ensuing mud.
Walt the Fourth,
I realized that we, too, have had Saharan sand before (but then it’s so close to us), but never experienced the mud rain. Amazing. I’m fascinated by how far it traveled.
That really IS a muddy rain! I think you’ve actually solved a bit mystery for me. When I went out to put rubbish in our bins this morning, I found them covered with a weird orangey sediment. I thought maybe Mrs. Kravitz was power-washing again, but I bet it was actually atmospheric dust. It must have extended all the way up to us. I’ll have to look into it!
Big mystery, not bit. 🙂
Steve:
I have been told by others in London that it did reach you, too.
Mud from the skies. Sounds like something out of the Bible. Or a parody of the Bible.
Kirk:
Didn’t muddy rain come between frogs and lice?
Sure looks like muddy rain to me as well
Urspo:
It was and there’s still a lot of clean-up to be done.