Pitter, Splat, THUNK!

If you're anywhere along the eastern seaboard today, it's raining. Actually, that's putting it mildly. Remnants from Tropical Storm Nicole are forecasted to dump six to 10 inches of rain in some places. Thankfully, here in the hills of east Tennessee all we've had were overnight showers that should be out of here by noon today. It's quite a soaking, but nothing compared to the flooding threat east of here. Our thoughts are with family and friends along the coast. We hope everybody stays safe.

Generally, we love rain. Of course, too much of even a good thing can turn bad. But, most of the time, we're happy to hear the pitter patter of rain on our fiberglass roof. We never have to wonder if it's raining. If it is, we hear it. This "can't miss" sound is a wonderful sleep aid. A good pitter patter will put all four of us (cats included) to sleep in minutes and keep us asleep for the duration. It's one of the things we dreamed about when we were planning to become fulltime RVers: A lovely spot in the woods...on a cool autumn morning...with the pitter patter of rain on the roof.

That dream has been realized more than once. And, this morning is just such an occasion. It's cool and it's raining. And, while it is lovely, it's not exactly as we dreamed it to be.

You see, we are in the woods. That means we are parked under trees. Big, tall ones. These big, tall trees hold water in their leaves and drop them on our motorhome in splats. And, that turns Mother Nature's gentle pitter patter into a random collection of pitters and splats.

Pitter, pitter, splat, pitter, pitter, pitter, splat, splat, pitter.

We're really not complaining. After all, it's not annoying. It's just a different rhythm, that's all.

But, we're not in any ordinary woods. No, no. We are parked under a canopy of Black Walnut trees. And, it's the end of September. Just before the leaves start to change in these parts, the black walnuts fall. These tennis-ball-sized nuggets land on our fiberglass roof with a sharp thunk that gives us all a jolt.

Just when we're settling in to the pitter patter and adjusting to the sporatic splats we're greeted with a deafening thunk that sends the cats running for the exits. We'll adjust, I suppose. We always do. But, I'm wondering if hard hats are in order. By the the sound of things around here, stepping outside could be hazardous to our health!

Meanwhile, the cacophony continues.

Pitter, patter, pitter, splat, pitter, THUNK, THUNK, splat, pitter, pitter, patter, THUNK, splat.