A solid week of precipitation dumped over five inches of rain across the San Dieguito River valley and some six inches of snow in the nearby mountains. As a precaution, over the weekend the city of San Diego released 923 million gallons through the 100-year-old Lake Hodges dam, six miles upstream, so for the last few days we’ve watched a strong, steady current of chocolate-colored water flowing a couple hundred yards from our back door. During the day all manner of herons, egrets, and ducks float, wade, and fish in the current; once it’s dark, the sound of the fast-moving water coursing through the reeds blends with the eerie squawks of night herons…. The rain leaves its mark everywhere.