Sublime Sunday: It's Raining! - But All Is Not Lost ~ Some Silver Linings To The Rain-Soaked Clouds of Deluge ~ Original Photography and Rather Long Discussion About A Wet Day ~
I Awoke To A New Day Dawning
And It Was WET!
It started that way, when I first awoke, way too late to get up early. So I lounged about in my fuzzy blankets for awhile, staring out the back window at the 4 pound droplets banging off the garage roof from above. It wasn't much of a motivation to get up and start moving anywhere fast. So I didn't.
The day started out wet, and ended wet. And the in-between was pretty much the same.
Who Wants To Go Out In THIS Stuff?!
Even Stinky the Cat was not enthused about starting the day. She just sat on the pillow, looking out through the 'Stink proof' screens, noting the very wet, belly-high grass out back. The face she made when she finally turned toward the camera pretty much says it all.
Once we joined the day, and started doing SOMETHING around the house, I gave a few thoughts to all this rain, and what it all means. And more importantly, DOESN'T mean. There are many things to be sublimely thankful for, even with all this moisture from the sky slowing down any planned outside work or play. Read On.
At Least It Didn't Look Like This
Many of you out there are still experiencing the true joy of winter. I'll take the rain over this white stuff any day. I admit, it IS pretty, and fun to play around in. But driving in snow in this part of the world is a true hazard. Very few people have a clue what they're doing behind the wheel. Or where their front OR back wheels will end up in the end of their adventure. So you pretty much take your life into their hands, when you venture out. I try not to go anywhere in my truck when it snows.
Though it could be worse...
It Could Be Doing THIS
Worse than snow? The ice storms we get now and then. This was a doozy, and I will take good old rain any day over the ice, and the 'falling everything-else' that goes along with it. One of these storms almost pulled the wires out from the roof of my house last year. I was lucky, other people had a LOT more damage. I know many of you out in SteemitVille have had the same thing this year. I feel for you.
Particularly since...
...It Often Leads To This
Frozen-solid wires.
Which Then Leads To THIS!!
Darkness all around. When that precious electricity goes out -- no heat, no lights, no oven, no toaster -- no other way to cook dinner.
Author's Note:This is the only example I could find in my photos of a complete blackout. This was from the other night, on my bike ride. There's a Canada goose and bucktooth Nutria in this photo. Somewhere.
(If you look real close, you can see the gooses' eye, glaring from the mercury-vapor light from above. The dark brown Nutria, good luck!)
This is what it feels like when the electricity goes out in your house. Couldn't see a goose OR Nutria in the living room if your life depended on it. Probably couldn't cook either one of them either. Even if you DID know how.
"You cannot catch, what you cannot see. You cannot cook, what you cannot catch."
-- I Heard That Somewhere
But luckily, none of those calamities described above happened to me on this Sublime Sunday. It just rained. Hard. And there are many things to be thankful for, when it rains. Hard. The following are just a few examples of the many perks of this all-day rainfall.
It Cleans The Gutters
OK, I guess that is what the gutters are actually FOR, so this might be a bit of a stretch. But it does wash all the leaves and sticks and other roof-gunk off the shingles, and down and out into the downspout. Even though I get my hands all muckity-cold and yucky, cleaning them out. Still, it's something to be happy about. A clean and efficient, rooftop drainage system.
The Rain Washes The Car
So I don't have to. Thank you, rain. I only wish it would rain now and then in the SUMMER, so I don't look so bad from the neighbors perspective, when I STILL don't wash the car.
The Weeds Grow Like A Mad-Dog
The rain gives me endless greens to put in my stir-fry. This is Wild Mustard. It tastes really great in my sauteed veggie melange. And the weeds wouldn't be here, if not for all this glorious water from above. Well, OK, maybe they still would be here. They seem to grow like...weeds, and are way, way beyond hearty. Just ask the weed specialist, @haphazard-hstead.
Just remember: "If the world gives you weeds, make a stir-fry".
The Rain Helps My Sad Little Kale Plants
The neighbors down the street were throwing this Kale away for some reason. Two big pots with plants about 3 feet tall. What a waste. I've been gnawing away at them for a couple of weeks. They're getting down to the nubbins, which makes me sad. And now...they can re-grow.
Though they don't seem to look too keen, even WITH all this rain. Maybe I should face the prospect that I'm not a true Kale specialist. Even though I have had much experience: Dumb Purple Kale Anyway
I Don't Have To Mow The Lawn
Ah yes...it will be quiet on a Sunday for a change. Usually, there is a real backyard Lawn-Boy® symphony going on all Saturday and Sunday. And for some reason, NO ONE can coordinate this activity. One person has to finish, before anyone else can pull their starter cord. Wonder if this is in a bunch of C.C.and R.'s, nationwide.
I can't believe it. Someone is out there TODAY, pushing their power mower around in the rain. Give it a rest, Marquartte!
On further perusal, this whole "I don't have to mow" idea is also a bit of an action-opposite reaction misnomer. I don't have to mow the lawn TODAY, because of rain. But I WILL have to mow the lawn, even more, later. Since it will grow a WHOLE lot faster now, with all this moisture. So maybe that is a big point-counterpoint nevermind.
Author's Side Note: I like to let some of the grass grow long, and only mow paths through the long grass. It is quite gorgeous, and is fun to walk through during the summer months. Because of this, I don't have to mow as often. Though that LAST cutting job of the summer is a real doozywhopper. Last year I mowed 1.25 acres with basically a 13 inch mower deck -- my Stihl® weed-whacker -- I was WHUPPED.
It Fills My Bird Bath For Free
All this rain fills my cool little bird-bath. Which should make the birds happy. Though, I've never actually SEEN a bird sit in this, or take a bath here. Maybe it's too small. But we DO have very small birds around the place. So who knows, maybe the little fake, iron birds in the bath scare them off. But if the birds of the yard DO want to use it, it will now be full. (Then again, who takes a bath when it's raining?)
The Rain Makes A Natural, Shroom-Bath For The Other Critters
The rain is filling up the top caps of the mushrooms in the yard. I think of these as tiny, organic bird baths. Hopefully the mice, frogs, sow bugs, angleworms, snakes, and other creatures of the lawn will use them. I've never actually seen this action either, but then I'm not often sitting in a lawn chair in the rain next to each mushroom all day long, looking. It's my yard, so I say they do use them, whenever appropriate.
I Don't Have To Fill The Cat's Water Dishes
Before anyone gets all huffy here, I DO put out water dishes for the cats. They just choose to not use them. For some reason, the cats would rather drink what I call Skankwater, than nice clean, fresh water. And it's not a chlorine thing. After a day or two, the chlorine off-gasses into the atmosphere.
But the cats? They'd rather drink out of a bucket of old sand and dirt, topped off with rain water. Like this one. I've asked them about this many times, but gotten no believable response.
And Then, It Fills Their Even MORE Favorite Dirty Puddles
Pantera the Cat was drinking out of this little puddle-patch yesterday. What's even better than a bucket of sandy muck? A true muddy puddle, with all the dirt and grit, only MORE 'close up'. Once again, don't ask me why. I'm pretty sure cats don't eat small rocks, since they don't have a crop, like a chicken. So maybe it's a nutrient thing.
Possibly the Schteinn School of the Sophisticated Sciences has an answer to this Big-time Kitty Riddle, but their library is closed up tight today. After all, it IS Sunday. I can wait a day or two to acquire the necessary cutting-edge Science Knowledge. If they DON'T have any info, this might be a great opportunity for a Masters Of Study Thesis for anyone interested in the Cat Sciences. Let me know, and I can put in a good word for you at the school.
It Knocks Their Heads Off
Hard rains knock the stuffin's out of the Dandelion flowers. Which must be a good thing. Their blasted, yet efficient, wind-born seeds won't be spread around so far and wide, if they're all in a soggy pile, at the base of the stem. HA! Take that, you pesky, petulant plants of persistence. Wonder if I could go around blasting them with the garden hose and super fine laser-like spray nozzle, when it's not raining? Another stellar idea for you professional gardeners out there.
"What's He Up To NOW?"
Some guy, out in the rain, taking pictures of things to write about, all concerning the joys of heavy rainfall. He told me his hands were 'dag-gum' cold, but it was well worth it.
This concludes our discussion of why we should all like rain, and hang out in it as much as possible, whenever possible. It just makes sense.
Hope you stay dry and happy, on this Sublime Sunday.
~ Finto ~
Thanks for stopping in and viewing the many splendor-ed things about Heavy Rainfall. If you have any thoughts about snow, ice, lack of electricity, and all the perks of rain by comparison, or anything else this post reminds you of, please feel free to comment away in the spaces below. I'd love to hear from you.
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And go to @ddschteinn -- There's a whole lot more...
Posted: 04/16/2018 @ 01:15
Excerpts From Late-Night Conversations With A Mechanical Cat
Fact Number 60
This is such a fantastic #SublimeSunday story, rain is never a good motivator and Stinky the Cat definitely shares all our feelings on a wet day. I'm glad we are well passed the snowy weather - but fortunately we don't get Ice Storms in the UK they look horrific.
Superb photography, I love the bird bath and also the mushroom that has collected water.
Thanks for taking the time to make such a wonderful post with the #SublimeSunday tag, I thoroughly enjoyed this.
#thealliance
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it. I had fun putting it together, if not too late at night ( :
You're not missing anything not getting the ice storms. They're really hard on everything. Like I said in this, snow and ice and trees almost pulled my wires out of the top of the house. I wrote a whole post on it, so I guess THAT'S a bright side to it all. Storyfodder for Steemit.
How often DO you get snow in your neck of the woods of the UK? Think it's similar to our latitude here. I don't really like it, as it slows down my biking. But it's gonna do what it's gonna do.
Thanks for putting this on as well. I shall try to do more. Sunday is sometimes a slow day for me, but I can always strive to do better in just about every part of Steemit. Onward and upwards we go with a smile and a keyboard and a mouse.
Like the CCR song about rain on a sunny day.
Oh we had the ice alright and the flickering lights, but we never lost power this time!!! I was so very thankful. I often wonder what the old timers did before computers to spend time on?!?
I enjoy a rainy day, especially in the summer. It alleviates my guilt if I chose to stay in a waste a perfectly good summer day
Glad you didn't lose your electro go-juice. That always is a bummer. I think the old timers just read a book by candlelight. No wonder they had bad eyesight. Though they probably got more OTHER things done on a daily basis ( :
I like your attitude about rain. And it is so true. Any time I wake up and look out and it's 'on', I think, "Oh good, I can write, rather than the 2714 OTHER things that really need to get done". I fear lawns and gardens and house repairs suffer dearly at the hands of the newly minted Internet (in relative terms).
I'll go look for the CCR song. Classic stuff.
Actually as a Turkiye citizen I am watching your pictures about the weather conditions because I live in izmir and it snows rarely in izmir ...I love the first picture and frozen-solid wires picture is an extreme point for me....Meanwhile raining picture and cat pictures remind me Ernest Hemingway's Cat in the rain story ...
Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures and have a nice day...
Totally unrelated @mnallica but I import to the UK Toper Coffee Roasting machines which are manufactured in Izmir, and for the last few days I was on a stand with their European agent Haldun who flew over to the UK to promote the brand with us. Turkey always appears to me to be a beautiful part of the world, you might not get snow but you have some amazing scenery to enjoy.
So glad you enjoyed the photos. I ran around in the rain and recorded the day. Like that it reminded you of E.H. and his cat. Very good thing to think of. Do you EVER get snow in Izmir? Is it usually nice and warm and balmy? That sounds nice. Rain is the usual here, but the last 10 years we are WAY behind. Which is not good. Takes a LOT of rain to catch up. Maybe someday, but with Climate Change, I kind of wonder. Some folks get too much, some too little, very few what they "want". Have a nice day as well.
I loved that first picture, you can see the drops of water completely for me that's the best thing I like the photos of days like that, I think the rainy day was not so bad it is preferable that it rains to fall snow hahaha also not so much cold
Yes, rain is much better than snow. I can still ride my bike. I had a BAD fall a few years back, so I don't ride in the cold and ice. Yucko. I think you see very little snow, eh? Except maybe in the mountains. Glad you liked the rain picture. I have more, some day I will do a post on that day. Rain, rain rain to where you could barely see. Yaay...
I love seeing pictures of rain, I hope to see that picture someday around here.
I have many years that I do not get on a bicycle I did as a child I came to fall several times and now maybe forget to walk in it
Ah! After the rain, those things look clean, refreshing and clean. You took great photos of everything. Stinky is very cute and her face can say it all, I agree.
And WOW! A lot of wild yellow weeds. They are very beautiful.
I enjoyed reading your stories about the things in each photo. Well done! ;)
Thanks, so glad you enjoyed my day out in the rain. It was fun, if not a bit wet. I eat a lot of the yellow weeds....they taste great in the stir fry. Though I complain gently about the rain, we need a lot more. How is the water situation in your area? Are you at a normal amount, and doing OK in that realm? So much of the world is either in too much, or too little. Just curious. Have a wonderful day, my friend.
You're welcome! I'm glad to know that you enjoyed the rain and the yellow weeds look great for cooking...
In Thailand, it's very hot hot and hot, even though there was heavy rain a few days ago.... Too much hot!
Have a pleasant day, GFF! ;)
heheh :) This article was amused me. and I watch great photos. congratulations dear friend. always very good in this regard!
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed my romp in the rain. It was fun to do, if not a bit wet. As I told @mnallica above, we are way behind in rain. So though it is hard sometimes, it is nice to be getting it. Does it rain much in Izmir? Have a nice day today, though it may be night right now.
Bwahahahaha!! You got some valid points here and yes, not having electricity sucks big time (spent 70 days without it thanks to hurricanes Irma and Maria). I love rain, the sound, the smell.... I hate that it makes the grass in my backyard grows insanely quick ending up like a forgotten jungle!
To every positive, there must be a negative. I fear plant growth is a bit of one in the realm of the rain. And you must get a LOT of plant growth there. Though a jungle can be nice sometimes. Keeps out the RIF-raf.
That really sucks to be without electricity that long. We wont go into that too much here, as we have in the past and it is not something with an answer you and I can do much about. But it must be VERY hard, and as I understand it, many folks STILL don't have it. Powers' that be, get your shat together. OK, I had to say it. Anyway, hope all is well in your world, besides a lot of undergrowth. Can you eat any of it?
The only edible thing is purslane... unless I transform into an iguana and start eating the jungle... Hmm I wonder if thats possible...
Dr. Frankenberry has a way to do it. But it might be a rather 'shocking' experience...
Skank water is more complex and has a longer finish, maybe even some secondary fermentation has gone on. Sticky is a frustrated wine aficionado stuck in a cats body ... so there you go:):):)
Great post, DD:)
THAT explains it all. I knew there had to be some good reason. Sort of a wine varnish on the water. Wonder if it has 'legs'. I'm such a non-wine aficionado. That's about all I know. That and bouquet. I know you swirl the glass about for some reason to look at it. Is that the 'legs'?
I think she has lived a life of some exotic something or other before. She definitely is the smartest cat I've ever seen. Plans things out, hides at night in the closet until everyone is asleep and then comes out. Knows about each window in the house and what room it's connected to. And USES it to her advantage. OK, nothing worse than someone going on and on about how special their kids are. So I'll quit ( :
Glad you enjoyed the restive romp in rainville.
Cats are generally the smartest being in the house and whatever they might lack in intellect they make up in attitude. LOL
Wine legs are are the lines the wine makes when it pours down the side of the glass. You swirl it to release smell and taste:) It aerates it:0
Rain will never be the same again.
Kind of reminds me of the Talking Heads, in reverse, sort of. Oh Bother, what AM I talking about...
Well, we know where we're going, but we don't know where we've been.
Some of us aren't all too sure about any of it...
Our cat will only drink water out of toilets or buckets. Before the last storm (and inevitable power outage) we filled a bunch of 5 gallon drywall buckets with toilet flushing water, and she's been in heaven ever since.
I just saw in my journal that last year, we'd already mowed the lawn by this time, and things were blooming and flowering.
This morning it was below freezing again. So I guess that's less mowing for me, which is fine.
Our little four legged charges definitely have a mind of their very own. Water buckets and toilets. That sounds about right. Puss is in total kitty heaven. "And you do it, just for ME"! Y'all are SO kind.
I have to fill the sink in the bathroom for the Stinklepuss. She won't drink out of a bowl, unless it's an emergency. She just sits on the sideboard and says, "water"?
I have mowed twice, and would not miss it if I could get away with it too. Plus the gas wastage. I refuse to cut an acre with a reel-mower. I tried, I'm just too weenie. Plus, I have a life. I have to live on this site ( :
I do feel for youse guys. You've definitely gotten your share this year. And more. Maybe next winter will be sublime and tropical. Then again....