It’s All About Rain

It’s been pouring rain in Northern California for the past couple of days and I love it. Several people have voiced concern about the thunder and lightening that rumbled and blazed across the sky last night. It made a few folks afraid. I actually like it, especially when I am safe inside and can simply listen and observe. It reminds me of living in the South where thunder and lightening seems to be more common. I like to think Mother Nature is speaking her mind!

Yesterday a lull in the rain allowed us to take our dogs, a German shepherd and a chocolate lab/Brittney mix, on their daily three-mile walk. The air around us was heavy with lingering moisture and the sky was a mixture of dark, ominous grey in one direction and lighter, swirling clouds in the other. A tiny opening in the cloud’s mantle allowed a patch of blue to peek through. The stream along our walk, after being bone dry all summer, was alive again, with water flowing over rocks and branches, the sound of the flow filling our ears. Across the creek, standing still as a sentinel was a doe, silent, cautious, and watching as we passed her hideaway. A lone, white egret stepped elegantly along the edge of the creek, fishing I would suspect.

We walked slowly, enjoying the beauty around us while sidestepping puddles or areas of mud. Our dogs did the opposite: trotting through the muck and prancing through the puddles as though this was a great adventure. Our German shepherd has strong play instinct and ran circles around the lab wanting him to frolic with her.

            “Come on! Let’s scuffle a bit,” she indicated. “Bet you can’t catch me!”

            “No way, princess. I’m a lab. Gotta keep it chill.” His eyes rolled up at me suggesting his annoyance with her silliness.

            I love to imagine dogs having such “conversations”. After reading a book such as The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, one has to wonder if, indeed, at least a mental dialogue does take place in our pets’ minds.

            I’m afraid I’ve digressed a bit, but no worries. I quickly can get back on topic. Rain. I love seeing it pour, but hope the abundance of precipitation does not cause too many problems: vehicle accidents, mudslides, flooding, and falling trees. I know those events occur, but rather than focus on the negative, I like to think the earth here in parched California is joyful, happy at last to absorb the stuff like a sponge.