It began raining in late afternoon, but the leaves came down even faster than the rain. I can't tell how many have fallen since it got dark, but I wouldn't be surprised to look out tomorrow morning and see the lawn completely covered again, and the tree almost bare. I'll have to let them lie until a couple of sunny days dry them out, which is apt to be more than a week hence. I hate raking wet leaves, and loading them into the bins is even worse.
Once the walnut leaves are gone I'll have to transfer my attention to the front yard where the fruitless mulberry tree is beginning to shed. The mulberry leaves are huge and fleshy, and are very unpleasant to deal with. That tree really makes me pay for the shade it provides all summer. It only sheds once the weather turns cold and damp, and usually continues dropping leaves into the new year. But once the mulberry leaves are gone I'll be done with raking until next fall. Eight months with no raking. Something to look forward to.
The rain has been only intermittent so far, with no serious downpours and little wind, so the patch on the roof hasn't yet been severely tested. So far there is no smell of wet insulation, and I'm hoping it stays dry throughout this series of storms. If it doesn't, that will mean that it's time to put entirely new roofing on the house. If that happens I might end up wishing I'd let it leak and start an electrical fire that would burn the place down. Then the roof would have gotten replaced by the insurance company when the house was rebuilt. It would be terribly inconvenient, though, and I really don't want all my stuff burned up, so I guess it's better if I can get a couple more years out of it with patching.
I must have inhaled something nasty while I raked the leaves today as I've been coughing a lot since then. I hope it was something I inhaled, anyway. I don't want to be coming down with a cold. Colds are especially miserable to have in rainy weather, plus even a mild fever brings me bad dreams, and I want none of those. Not to mention all the ramen I'd end up eating since I don't feel like cooking anything more elaborate when I'm sick. I'm going to go drink some orange juice now and curl up on the couch with a thick blanket. There must be something worth watching on television, and the room the computer is in is just too drafty. No sense getting chilled at a time like this.