Rain!! Beautiful Rain!

Who knew that rain could be such a wonderful thing??   Well, I guess the folks in Texas surely know that but for some of the rest of us, rain is pretty much taken for granted.   That is until this summer.     We have had a long summer with practically no rain.   In fact, I think the rain started diminishing in the spring.    What we normally expect is lots of rain and thundershowers in the spring and on into the summer.   Not so this year.    We have had an usually long period without regular rain and we have been in the exceptional drought classification for months.   The yard, garden and flowering plants suffered even though we watered with a hose.    The grass practically crunched under our feet
---that is until it curled up and turned brown.   :-(   

Now I know a thing or two about hot and dry weather.   I lived two summers when I was a teenager in Ft. Worth, Texas.    We moved there early in June and the first morning we stuck our heads out of our hotel room, it was 103 degrees and it was not even noon!   Quite a shock to this Mississippi girl who had never seen such hot and dry weather.  We made it through that hot, arrid weather and two years later moved back to Mississippi.   Since then I have lived  along the Gulf Coast for all of my adult life and  I don't remember having such a long spell without substantial amounts of rain in this part of the world.   

So imagine my surprise and delight to hear the distant roll of thunder and then that most soothing of sounds---rain falling softly outside the window.     It rained vigorously and continuously for 30 or 45 minutes and then switched to that muffled sound known to have soporific qualities that can lull you into the deepest and sweetest sleep known to mankind.   Resistance is futile as the saying goes, so a nap in my recliner near the back door began in earnest shortly after it was obviously going to last a while.  Ah, sweet sleep....it's not just for babies any more!   





After my naperall, I took a quick stroll outside once the rain had subsided and I found heavy drops clinging to the patio chairs and along the table.     Then I noticed it was still hanging precariously on every leaf and twig in the yard.    It had actually rained long enough that it was not immediately absorbed into the ground like a dry sponge.    I know the birdies are going to be really thrilled when they discover that their bird bath is full of nice, cool water with just the right amount of algae to make them happy.     

While I was snooping around looking for evidence that the rain had really happened, I happened to notice a tiny butterfly---black and white.   It even had black and white stripped antennae.  How cool is that for creativity of design?  He was almost invisible but he happened to fly off when I was looking his way and got a glimpse at this tiny little creature.    We have so much life all around us and often overlook it in our haste to go on our way.     I urge you to take a closer look in your yard and see what kinds of things you see living right under your nose.....so to speak. 

One last thing---while I was checking things out I happened to notice that the fence didn't have a lot of Virginia Creeper vines on it.   Larry had cleared many of them off several weeks ago in a yard work frenzy of activity.     Somehow he had missed a whole bunch of tiny  berries of some kind that are on the vine.    They were there today, wet and somewhat dried looking---like miniature prunes.   On closer inspection I found that they are beginning to wither on the vine and are a leathery blue color. That made me realize that September is nearly gone.  Where did it go??   So those little berries are telling us that autumn will soon be upon us.    Another season completed and a new one about to unfold before us.

Promise yourself starting today that you'll notice and acknowledge the good things in your life.    You are probably far more fortunate than you know and a simple thing like having some rain can be the best thing that happens all day.    Remember, if you're looking for the good life (like we are) sometimes  you don't have to look far---it is happening right in your own back yard.   

Happy Trails,

Marcia