it'll rain a sunny day

sharp, wet, and fluffy
Originally uploaded by rod lewis

I don't remember the last time it rained. The water has even evaporated from my rain guage on the deck. Ironically, we haven't experienced heavy duty heat, at least not by local standards, but it has been dry, and the grass is brown and struggling.
I've got dead spots in the lawn. I've watered everyday, but it's not enough to reverse the effects of the dry sunshine.
That is until a very tired tropical Barry made his way to us. It started raining yesterday morning. Just a slow, steady, soaking, cooling rain. It hasn’t stopped yet. The frogs are singing in every yard, not just at the pond. The birds are extraordinarily musical. The grass is basking in the nourishing water and breathing a sigh of relief.

I slept with the windows open last night. It felt as if I was sleeping outside. The rain was for the most part steady, but regularly it suddenly would rain harder for about a minute and then just as suddenly slack back off to a tempo. This also became a part of the pattern of the night. The harder rain would wake me and I’d find myself confused as to where I was. Once, I awoke in the woods by the Cranberry river listening to the water rushing over the rocks. Once, I awoke in a luxurious lean-to, open to the night air, high on a bluff overlooking the Caribbean, listening to the waves crash against the rocks below while the moon set.
The wind and rain can take one places during a night’s sleep. I appreciate when it takes me to treasured places that are thick with meaning. We desperately needed rain. My mind needed to travel, to remember, and to rest.

The clouds broke this afternoon while we were at Jack’s violin recital. We walked out of the dark building into the bright afternoon sunlight. I thought of the places I revisited last night. The grass is green, the oleander is bending low, heavy with blossoms and raindrops. I’m standing tall. Refreshed by the rain, and lightened by sunshine.
It’s raining a sunny day, sunshine pouring down like water. For the most part steady, but with regular surges of short lived brilliance.