rain

After some 100 days without measurable rain in the valley, after 100 days of sunshine and dust, after 100 days of casual coat-less-ness, after 100 days of the stink from our chicken yard relishing no natural rinse, after 100 days of what I consider delight - the rain came.

WeatherChannel.com warned of this, even put out special weather alerts to raise awareness of potential road slipperiness and the need for gutter preparedness. Farmers debated and winemakers danced for this. I braced for this.

In Octobers past the cold came first. One year, my first living in a duplex alone, my landlord came over on the eve of a big freeze to reinforce the spigots and insure we were all sealed up. Got down to 15 degrees that year! Annually, these few mid-October days have been the ones that demand flannel sheets, the ones that remind me what a pain scraping the windshield in the morning can be, the ones where the couch and a warm blanket beckon relentlessly.

Other years the rain was so constant that the autumn leaves let go of their branches without much fight. Gutters filled fast, the thrum of rain drops on the roof and windows become white noise, we all wondered if there would be a break in the clouds for the trick or treaters. Indeed, fifty years ago this last Monday the Columbus Day storm ransacked the countryside with wet at wind and mud.

But this year, we had time to savor the last of warmth as the status quo. We lazily enjoyed our deck furniture until the weather man reminded us on the eve of deluge to finally pack it away. We raked up the yard, trimmed back the blooms...

And it came.

This morning, sitting on the porch I drank my coffee and the fragrance of long wet soil being quenched. It was cinnamony and aching and fresh and dusty all at once. We watched, our pup Woody and I, as though we'd never seen liquid fall from the sky - deep down knowing this was simply the beginning to many days to come.

The forecast tells of sun later this week. But, it's not the same as our 100 days of summer. Good thing I stored up so many of those rays. Good thing I enjoy the rainy days too.