32 – Rain *

Special thanks to Janet for providing the photographs. Janet is in Arizona and I encourage readers to visit her at This, That and the Other Thing, Please tell her I sent you and feel free to comment on her images here. All photos are copyrighted by Janet Webb.

Click the video above for 2 minutes of background waves while reading.

like walking on the beach. It is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

Because it rained all morning, I relegated my morning walk to a treadmill. After returning to the condo, I sat on the balcony watching and listening to the rain – and even thinking about it. The rain stopped during lunch, so my thoughts carried over to my walk on the beach’s newly smoothed surface.

Rain – once water vapor in the clouds, then condensed to fall to the ground as drops from a saturated atmosphere.

Rain – the drops falling as sprinkles, mists, drizzle, spits, and just rain. The stuff coming from ominous clouds that can come down in sheets, buckets, and like cats and dogs – the liquid that can pepper, pelt, and pour in the form of storms, torrents, downpours, and cloudbursts.

Rain – a form of precipitation that is an important part of the water cycle – the environmental action feeding ecosystems, moistening fields, naturally irrigating crops, filling wells, carving gullies, eroding rocks and soil, plus activating and replenishing life.

Small islands with mountains impress me – mountains giving the island a wet side and a dry side. Islands with a rainforest on one side, but a desert on the other – plus gradients in between. So many varying climates in a relatively small space is very interesting.

Rain is one type of weather’s precipitation, but not the only. We think of it as light, moderate, heavy, and violent while adding a component of time as occasional, sudden, brief, or steady. We associate rain with relative humidity, dew points, low-pressure fronts that can be warm or cold, and leading edges with comma-shaped spots identifying violent storms – then we measure the amount fallen with gauges because the curious want to know.

Some find rain to be soothing with an aesthetic appeal – an opportunity for peace. To those associating rain with sorrow and gloom, I say, “Tell it to stop.” I don’t worry about rain because we humans have no power over it.

Rain is the reason we have slanted roofs, gutters, storm sewers, drainage systems, retention ponds, raincoats, rain hats, umbrellas, and waterproof clothing. Rain is the reason nature has dark clouds, storms, lightning, thunder, hurricanes, and rainbows.

Rain is nature’s confetti that gives birth to life on Earth – a reason why some cultures have rain dances, prayers, and other rituals. After all, water and life are inseparable partners.

Rain provides the perfect opportunity for staying inside to read, write, clean, watch a movie, working on a craft, or simply have a lazy day with television, music, or a cup of tea.

Rain is a symphony of changing sounds with a changing rhythm. From the loud of a downpour to the soft of a gentle rain, the sound of rain speaks in a universal language that can be steady, with changing dynamics, plus added effects of wind, thunder, and flashes of light. Yet rain can also serve as nature’s lullaby to put us to sleep.

I think of the sound of rain on the tin roof covering the house of my youth – plus the tapping on exposed windows of my current home. Rain has a way of making everything seem still – except for the sound of rain hitting the ground, trees, and buildings. However, while on the balcony high above the beach, the rain is comparatively silent.

Rain is an opportunity to clean our spirit. After the rain, the gray clouds depart to allow sunshine to take its place in the sky – even possibly exposing a rainbow that will cause souls to jump for joy and dance around puddles.

We yell at the rain when it gets in the way of our plans, but welcome it when it quenches thirsty plants and softens parched ground.

Rain is a time for lovers to walk hand-and-hand or even dance without noticing they are wet – plus making time for lips to touch as a kiss.

Some people enjoy the smell of rain – however, rain itself is relatively odorless – but it is the rain that activates certain soil bacteria to release a scent that we think is rain. That is part of rain’s cleansing mystique.

There are times when we are dry, but we see signs in the distance signaling rain – dark clouds, rumbles of thunder, trees swaying in the wind with a fresh scent, and even possible to see the rain coming from a distant cloud. We become eager with anticipation as the sky darkens and the other signals approach.

Sometimes we patiently wait for the rain to stop – other times we are anxious. Then we go out to a world of puddles and mud – of drops hanging from leaves, limbs, outdoor furniture, and the edges of fences and gates. Rain also forms tight round beads on a recently waxed car.

From Rainy Days and Mondays, Purple Rain, Fire and Rain, and more, we Dance in the Rain as Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head while wondering Who’ll Stop the Rain on A Rainy Night in Georgia.

Rainy afternoons here at the beach are time for the fitness center and/or going to the movie theater. At least on this day, the theater had to wait because the afternoon was dry enough for walking. After all, I like walking on the beach because it is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have posted about rain

• Rain Memories (a personal story)
• December Rain (a poem)
• Gift of Rain (photos by a visitor here)
• Photography in the Rain (essay and photos)
• Mountain Rain (a poem)
• Cold Rain Fallen (a poem)

Next Post: Storms – Tuesday 26 January @ 1 AM (Eastern US)

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