Irony defined: sitting in the shaded courtyard at work yesterday at lunch, next to a lovely fountain/pond flanked by lush lawn, reading the opening chapter of Cynthia Barnett’s Blue Revolution:

Sacramento landscape architect Ronald Allison tells of a two-and-a-half-acre residential design in Granite Bay with a waterfall, a grotto, a cave, six fountains, a pool with a bridge and an island, and a ninety-foot water slide: “It’s fun for the grandkids.”

Irony multiplied: After lunch, walking back to the newsroom to write about Albuquerque finishing up its driest water year on record, at 3.26 inches (8.28 cm)  since last Oct. 1.

This morning I totaled up and double-checked the numbers for my house, a couple of miles from the official airport gauge that yielded that depressing 3.26. I had a whopping 4.94 inches (12.55 cm).