the rain

The rainy season has arrived. This evening we're between two fierce storms - the Pineapple Express that hit here on the 6th, and another big blow tomorrow. Keith hustled to get some of the larger trees (coral bark maple, paperbark maple, atlas cedar, noble fir) planted. As the deciduous trees are leafless and the conifers still rather thin, they should do fine in the high winds tomorrow. I wish I could say that the project is filling my heart with joy, but because of the time of year, it's merely emptying my pocketbook and keeping me from walking in the mud-pit that the yard has become. I know it will be fine, and I'm not worrying about it. But right now, it is what it is.

Make no mistake - I love the rains. I guess I wouldn't be here if I didn't. The lawn in the play area down at the beach looks like the best-kept golf course green you can possibly imagine. After thirsting all summer, it has come back to life with an amazing exuberance. It always makes me smile, the lawns that perk up in November and December and stay lush green until mid-August.

After several days of rain we had glorious sunshine today, and hobbitt and I got to walk in it and breathe it in. By the time our walk was over there wasn't a patch of blue anywhere in the sky but that's how it goes here. I wasn't sure we'd be taking our evening walk, as it had begun to rain in earnest again late this afternoon, when we drove into town to get some groceries. But by the time we'd finished our errand, there were starry, clear patches of sky and a walk seemed like a good way to end the day, as it always is for us.

I'd forgotten about our night walks from last winter. In summer, to walk in the dark would mean getting down to the beach after 10, and though we're slugs, even that is a bit late for us to be hking around. That's not the case now, of course. So at six tonight, we found ourselves under a broad swath of the Milky Way, even if it was only for a brief time, as the clouds rolled in once again.

Of course, night walks are mis-named - I should call them "take a few steps and spend 10 minutes looking up into the stars" strolls. I saw a few very dim shooting stars. hobbitt spotted several satellites. We kept noticing flashes of light in the sky, and couldn't for the life of us figure out what was going on until, as we turned the point and headed west, we could see the huge flashes of lightning over the Olympic Mountains. It wasn't until we were almost back to the car that we began to hear the distant rumbling of thunder.

I love it here. I love it.