"The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more." - Jonas Salk

It rained pretty hard all night, or at least every time I woke up and heard it. 

When I fed the goats last evening the dirt under their straw was wet. It's rained so much that because the barn is on a bit of a slope the water is coming underneath the wall and running from the front of the barn to the back. Wet ground is not good for the goats! But I don't think there's anything I can do about it now except put down more straw. We're supposed to get 2" between now and Sunday night with winds of 30 mph later today. Monday we dry out, so I'll remove all the straw in the morning, let the ground dry during the day, and then put down more straw late in the day. I'll also dig a shallow trench across the uphill side in hopes that water from future rains will drain to either side.

Speaking of rain, this is a beautiful screen shot of the forecast for Grants Pass:

The race starts at 8 a.m. so it will still be in the low 50's or even cooler, but the 0% chance of rain is what has me doing a happy dance (not a rain dance). I may wear an old long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve and take off & toss the long sleeve if/when I get too warm. 

The F1 series is in Austin, TX this weekend, the only stop in the U.S. I root for Lewis Hamilton, an English driver who happens to be in first place with four races left in the season including tomorrow's. If he finishes first and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finishes 7th or lower Hamilton will sow up the season championship.

I've rooted for Hamilton for several years. No particular reason except that he's mixed race and the only non-Hispanic non-Anglo driver in F1. (There are a few from South America.) But I think my favorite driver name is Stoffel VanDoorne. Yeah, he's Dutch. 

A charity that apparently supports first responders sponsored a "hot rod" show. I put that in quotes because it was barely a show - maybe 30 cars - and about 25% of them weren't hot rods. But on a rainy day with Pam in Michigan it seemed like a good way to fill part of the day. There are some unwritten rules that have governed hot rods for decades. Alas, like so much of the glue that holds our society together those rules seem to be willfully disregarded by too many builders.

• Thou shalt not put a Chevy small block (350) in anything other than a GM car. If you put a SBC in a Ford of any year or model and then compound the heresy by propping open the hood to show chrome valve covers with the Chevy logo you will spend eternity driving around the same block in a pink 2004 Thunderbird.
• Thou shalt not build a hot rod and install an automatic transmission. If you cannot figure out how or are unwilling to work a clutch and a manual transmission content yourself with driving a Toyota Camry. Installing an automatic with a shift lever that looks like a manual might fool my 94-year old mother, but car guys know you're embarrassed at this lameness and trying to cover for it. We are not fooled. Never mind the absence of a third pedal.

This show included a form to vote for a "People's Choice" car. Because I wouldn't vote for any build with an automatic transmission my options were reduced to about four vehicles. Among those the choice was pretty simple - this 1940 DeSoto Touring Sedan. All stock, beautiful black paint, suicide doors...

Easy choice. 

Our NPR station plays alternative and routes on Saturday afternoons. On the way home from the car show I heard a woman singing a blues song: "You can take my husband, but don't mess with my man."

Hmmm.