Hurricane Sandy was a feisty girl, leaving a lot of rain in the Kent area last week.  Sandy's rainfall, when added to the storm that joined her from the west, totalled over 4.5" in my yard north of Kent, with most falling in the days before November.* 

The Cuyahoga River swelled in the area, resulting in a closed Ravenna Road by the Akron Water Treatment Plant for several days.  Water approached riverside homes in River Bend Estates, leaving a tree house and bird feeder far out of reach.  It was not until this past Saturday that water began receding in the river.  Although swollen by Sandy last week, I've seen the river two feet higher at the Akron Water plant in past years.

*I voluntarily monitor daily precipitation for COCORAHS, a nationwide group that makes precipitation data available to scientists, insurance companies, the National Weather Service, and more.