It's raining! It's raining!

Well that's great. We finally got ours, too. Glad to see yours started in the spring when it ought to.

Roger,
happy for you, happy for me!
Where are you, by the way? And how long has the drought lasted there?

msolga - that's wonderful. Keep us posted on any little green things that start to sprout as a result!

ehBeth

Thanks for celebrating with me.
Yes wonderful it is! Or was .... The downpour appears to have stopped now & the sun has peeped through. So there'll be lots of green stuff sprouting all over the place .... Hopefully not to be dried out by MORE endless rain-less days!

I always think it's amazing what things are just waiting to grow. It's like that up north - very short, intense growing season - i think that's why the tiny flowers are so intense there.

eh Beth

I wondered where "up north" was & checked your profile. Hey, Toronto, Canada! And what are these wonderful, intense growths in a Toronto garden? Anything like those in your profile pic.?

msolga - grape hyacinths - the accessories in my avatar - are indeed common in gardens here in early spring. highly fragrant, intensely coloured, fast poppers after the snow melts.

There are areas 4+ hours north of here that are often compared to Siberia by people who have also travelled there. The growing season is very short once you get to Iqualuit and places like that - plants have to be READY to grow on very short notice.

Eh Beth

Thanks for filling me in. I love hyacinths. Not sure if I've ever seen the grape variety, though.
And of course! Toronto has snow! Have never experienced it & marvel that anything can emerge from the soil after being frozen! What an unusual concept for someone who lives in ANY Australian city!
You couldn't have droughts, too, surely?

We are in fact in a period of drought in much of Canada. Negative rainfall over 3 or 4 years i think. The problem in my area is when the spring comes on too fast, and the snow melts too quickly to be absorbed into the ground and rushes off into the rivers and lakes, to the St. Lawrence and then off to the Atlantic. Our water table and lake levels have been low for some time.

I can't imagine NOT having snow. It is so much a part of my life experience. I was put on ice skates before i could walk. There is a photo of me at 6 or 7 months of age, trussed up in a snowsuit, on double blades, being held up/pushed around the ice by my dad. That was one HAPPY, gleeful baby.

ehBeth

I don't think I could COPE with snow!
But those who've lived with it all their lives say it's just pure magic.
But snow & drought? the thought is just too much to comtemplate.
No doubt you know how we feel here ... It's getting scary!

My father and I talk about the power of nature a lot. I think the more you think about how dangerous it is to try to mess with the earth, the more you try to live a simple, hmmmmm less-impinging life.

ehBeth

Yes, yes! .... I couldn't agree more!

One of the things that makes me feel very sad & anxious, in high summer during a drought, is the birds: It really distresses me watching them checking every possible place for water. I took to putting containers of water all over the place (out of my 3 cats' reach!) to try & help. Summer in a rainless city can be pretty tough on little creatures.

Msolga, I'm so happy for you! There's nothing like a spring rain/downpour to help the natural growth of the earth. It's natures way of grooming the trees and flowers.

Rain, especially warm rain, is enough to make you run into the poodles barefoot to make you feel like a kid again!

Hi Misti

Actually it was the ODDEST sensation! There had been so little for so long that it felt really unfamiliar & peculiar.
Thank you for sharing the pleasure with me. Let's hpe there's more to come!

I'm doing my rain dance for you girl!

Dear Misti & Phoenix

Thank you for your respective rain dances. Let's hope they do the trick! More, more, more is what we need! (& it's stopped!!!!)

Msolga, your description of the rain was wonderful! It reminded me of growing up in Tucson, Arizona, which is semi-arid desert.

So often, we would see the clouds build up over the mountains only to dissipate; or, the rain would fall, but evaporate before it reached the ground.

Ah, but when it came, the smell of ozone was unimaginably delightful. As you said, everything looked clean and new and the desert plants would respond quickly, knowing that there might not be rain for another several months.

Lots of desert creatures would pop to the surface after being buried well under ground. They would mate like mad, insuring another generation, and quickly bury themselves under ground again before the ground had a chance to dry out too much for survival.

There are serious flash floods because the ground is very hard and dry and can't absorb the water. I remember walking outside just an hour or two after a heavy rain and a flash flood, to see the ground dry and cracked, looking a little like a moonscape. The sun is so fiercely hot that it evaporates the moisture in the ground very quickly.

Do you have really violent storms booming with thunder and lightening blazing through the sky? I always loved those storms, the more violent the better. Now that I live in Connecticut, on the east coast, I miss getting to see those awesome storms.

Another thing I loved about the desert was springtime, when there had been more rain than usual during the winter. If there has been enough moisture, the desert explodes in color, filled with flowers that will only last a few weeks until the weather gets too hot. It is a spectacular sight--the desert is extravagant and voluptuous during this short time.

Once, when my sons were small, I was standing outside in the rain. They came out and said, "Mommy, why are you standing there?" It was pretty difficult to explain to these boys, who had never lived in the desert, what an extraordinary experience rain can be to a desert dweller.

Your post braught it all back. Rain is so exciting! It makes you want to dance, to celebrate for the sheer joy of it. I feel wonderful for you!