Today it is gray and cold and rainy. I love rainy days. I love Weather. I capitalize Weather because to me it means extraordinary weather – blizzards, thunderstorms, downpours, shimmering blue skies with burning hot suns. Strong weather with an identity and an opinion.
Rain makes me more productive. As a child, I loved to sit at the kitchen table with my crayons and coloring books and listen to the rain on the metal exhaust fan. It made such a loud noise in our old house! I love rainy days. Right now, I am sitting snug in my office, with the heater that looks like an old fashioned coal stove warming the room. Rain patters at the windows, driving Pierre the cat crazy. He leaps from window to window, trying to catch the raindrops. He thinks they are toys. Then again, he’s just turning one year old, so everything in the house is a toy to him…raindrops, ladybugs, electrical cords…cats find toys wherever they are!
From my perch in the tower office, I can see signs of spring in the garden, encouraged by the rains. The perennial garden is bare except for spots of purple and white. The crocus are up and eager to share their colors. They lend patches of joy to the garden amidst smiling yellow daffodils.
Rain…the rite of spring!
My thoughts are really turning to gardening today. Maybe it was working outside this week in the vegetable garden and realizing that in just a few short months, the first of the organic vegetables should be on the table. The seedlings are thriving under the lights, and now the gaillardia seeds I collected from the perennial garden last fall are sprouting. I gave my neighbor Patty lots of seeds, and she emailed me today to say they are all thriving in her cold frame. I’m so happy I could share part of my garden with her!
I miss the crocus – there are huge areas coverd in them in many parks in Wales. Here the poppies are the real blanket of spring colour. Not quite as regal though!