A few wry observations.

It's raining.  I have wet socks, wet boots, and a pair of wet jeans drying on the ricky-racky, and if my senses had been deceiving me, I've also read seven facebook posts and an email newsletter with notice to the same effect.  It's raining.  It's raining so hard that the rain-soaked people of Portland are actually cautioning each other to stay off the roads if possible. 

I would stay off the roads if I could, but it's the sidewalks that are proving hazardous.  Is there anything more miserable that taking out a dog to do his business and then discovering that in inclement weather of this ferocity, dogs prefer to hold it?  I remember last year when Boogaloo and I took Max for a walk and got soaked through, but that was her fault.  Today, the Boo had enough sense to say, "Stay home, Mommy," when I grabbed the leash, so I put in a movie and left her to it.  She's a very smart girl.  When she sees rain sheeting down the windows and tree branches slapping against the eaves, she figures she won't be very comfortable outside.

 Max is a pretty smart dog.  It didn't take much for him to come to the same conclusion.  However, there remains the fact that a dog's business needs to be done outside.  We tried hiding beneath the trees.  We tried stepping on the high spots made by the tree roots that were coming up through the pavement.  We tried using my umbrella.  Well, storm - 1, umbrella, boots, and jean - 0, dog - dilatory.  And it doesn't show any signs of letting up. 

On the way to the mailbox later in the afternoon, when the rain had subsided for a second, and the puddles were frantically draining while they had the chance,  I looked down into the gutter and saw a positive rainbow of maple leaves heaped against the curb.  The predominant leaf was a Japanese maple, which looks a bit like a starfish and a starfruit all at once.  Against the dark pavement under the clear water, the still vibrant fall colors still glowed with the sunlight they had been absorbing all year long.  It was kind of like looking into the kids pool at the aquarium if sea urchins and starfish could light themselves up.    At any rate, it was beautiful, and if I hadn't been outside, I wouldn't have seen it.  So there is the bright side for the day.