Should I stay in or should I go out?

After horrendous pounding on my roof most of the night, the rain has abated for a bit.  It will be back though and there is no end in sight.  I feel sorry for those who are already experiencing the mud slides that are inevitable after the fires last summer.  There are too many people on the planet, and they build in locales that aren't stable enough to hold a big population.  I would love to live in the mountains, but not in forested mountains in dry country.

I checked out Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire" at the library yesterday and look forward to reading it again, after re-reading it several times over the years.  It was the first of Ed Abbey's books that I enjoyed, and I believe I've read all of them.

When I first encountered Desert Solitaire I had never been in the west, nor had I actually seen a desert.  Of course it sounded romantic and beautiful, and I can tell from reading blogs of those who love it that it is romantic and beautiful to them.  Driving through it was interesting to me, but spending several days in the Arizona desert a few years ago made me realize that I don't like desert and I don't like anything about it, including all the thorny plants that grow in it.  I'm anxious to see how I read Abbey's words now that I've experienced some of the places he wrote about.

I also plan to re-read Monkey Wrench Gang and Heyduke Lives.  MWG is one of the funniest books I've ever read, as well as thought provoking.

I was planning to go out to do a bit of shopping, but looking out my front door I see tall palm trees bending in the wind, leaves scattering down the street, and no sunshine at all.  I would rather stay indoors than to be blown away trying to get from my car and into one of the stores.

(Click on a photo to enlarge.)

I think it's definitely a stay-indoors day!