after the storm

Our first real rain of the season was a doosey yeaterday (and boy did we need it), the sky mottled with clouds of blues and greys, whites and silver dripped steadily all day. I like a slow and stready rain, it has time to soak deep into the dirt instead of running off. We get so little of it here no sense in having it wasted. Local streams and lakes show signs of months gone too long without the wet stuff. Watching it soak up every drop was like watching a parched man in the desert finally get a drink.

The cloud cover broke in the late afternoon leaving the sky a brillent crystal blue. The hens ventured out from their warm coop. I watched them from the kitchen window scratching in the dirt looking for tastey tidbits brought to the surface by the rain. Birds returned from their protective hideouts splashing and twittering in puddles made in the low spots of an empty garden.

The landscape takes on a new look after a storm, it's refreshed and quenched. But, it won't last long; we've been in a drought for a while now and it will take many more storms like this to bring us back to normal. That's ok with me though. I like these days of cloud filled skies and growing puddles.

Makes me want to sing "Here Comes the Rain".