That was is a deluge, steady, non-stop rain. Last night. Right now. During a lull this morning (sprinkles instead of sheets) we headed up into the hills.

The creek, which has been dry for going on two years, is running.

And the lake is visibly fuller. Listen a minute and I swear you'll hear the landscape here, the oaks and sycamores and sere chaparral, drinking it in. That's not wind, it's a sigh.