Woody drains

The evening thunderstorm really outdid itself today and I was forced to get out and snake the drains due to the excess of precipitation. I have a length of electric cable about an inch in diameter that I regularly subject to this snaking ordeal. I started off shirted and civilized with an umbrella, but as things got more serious I was forced to accept that wetness was of the essence and I might as well embrace it retaining only my shorts in case of visitors. In the end I was able to push the obstruction down to the nearest exit about ten foot down the track and when I had pried it out I found it to be a rotten old piece of batten that had found its way stoat-like down the pipe. As I slung the offending creature into the bamboo thicket the muddy pool outside quietly disappeared and I left the scene to avail myself of the shower facilities so comforting on these occasions.
Thankfully I found I had not picked up any passengers in the form of the tiny leaches that are wont to inhabit these areas. In the past I have found them inching their way up the arm to find somewhere homely to latch onto, thus it is not without trepidation that one sends out the trusted limb to explore the deeps. Anyway, this seems to capture something of the drowned rat experience I remember from an hour or two ago.