And Then, it Rained
We had rain here. I know, that’s not news a whole lot of places. In fact, when I was still in Missouri, I complained an awful lot about our wet springs and summers, especially those that closed the road I took to work, forcing me to stay on the highway the whole trip.
I’m not a great commuter, that’s pretty much well-known about me.
Anyway, we had a decent rainfall here, which made me a bit nostalgic. Being from a wetter climate, I was used to regular rain, the sound of it on the roof and pavement, the smell of it as the dirt soaked up those first drops. The intense green of the trees and grass within minutes after the rain would start, and finally, the bright sunshine that would come out and sparkle off the wet landscape.
Here, rain is rare. We see rain fall from clouds fairly often, especially in spring and summer. But the rain never reaches the ground, evaporating into the dry air. If it does rain, it is a few drops, and done. This rainfall started on Sunday night and went through most of the day on Monday. It was a slow, steady, moderate rain that never let up. After days of too-warm weather and weeks of no moisture at all, it was a blessing. I watched it come down, making my world soft around the edges, muffling the sounds of cars and airplanes and neighborhood. I could stand on my balcony, my feet in shallow puddles, and watch the raindrops disturb the water on the pond. The ducks floated around resolutely, not any more used to the rain than the rest of my neighbors.
You would think, since it is so dry here, that everything would be brown and yellow. But it isn’t. Our trees are green and lush, and lawns do just fine with a twice-a-week watering. But as we all know, rain is much better than a sprinkler. The nourishment from rainfall isn’t just about the moisture.
May is apparently the rainy season here, and we expect more of these kinds of rainfalls in the next few weeks. I’m going to enjoy each and every one of them.
