Oh, and we discovered this morning just why the drainage ditch on the far side of our house is so steep. I did not realize how heavily it rained last night until I raised the blinds in the master bedroom.

The water is several feet deep in the ditch, running fast, and is about five feet from our house.

It would take probably double or triple the heavy rains last night to come close to our house because of the size of the ditch, but it was still quite disconcerting to see so much water close to my window.Oh, and if we can find one, we're going to plant a Japanese red maple in the front yard. Perhaps a flowering cherry tree in the back yard, close to the house. But farther away, I'm thinking about planting an oak tree.

Given how mobile twentysomething geeks are, I think it highly unlikely that I will ever see that tree at its full height—but someone will live here at that time, and they'll appreciate it.

Hopefully, then, some squirrels and birds will take up residence. Because we have no trees now, we don't see squirrels or birds around our house. I miss having them around.