
I love to lie in bed with the windows open and listen to that special sound that has no name. I love the gentleness and the sweetness that it brings to my garden. I love the veil it drops around my house that keeps me feeling safe. I love the smell of it, and the touch of it...
However... I am beginning to wonder if the Great Flood might not be coming after all. Surely we've had 40 days and 40 nights of non-stop rain by now! If I was a boat builder, I would seriously be considering my options.
I took this picture a couple of days ago. A gap had appeared in the cloud and I bolted for freedom. It didn't last long, and within an hour or so, the leaves on the trees were being splattered with giant droplets, and running water and puddles were popping up out of the ground right, left and centre. England is beyond saturated.
Looking out of my window I see it's raining again now, and there is no sign of a break in the cloud. My garden has become the perfect environment for frogs, newts and other amphibians (there is always an upside), my house is leaking (not sure there's an upside to that), and the family wash pile is now so enormous, because we can't get anything dry, that we are in very real danger of being buried beneath it (a hideous thought indeed).
There is a well known saying... 'if you can't beat them, join them!', and I think that applies very well to our weather. There is nothing to be done about it, we cannot change it, so it seems to me the best thing to do is put on a coat with a decent hood, pull on a pair of wellington boots and just get out into it! There is something very special about walking through the woods in a downpour. Usually there is no one else dotty enough to be out in it, and so you have the place to yourself. It feels wonderful to be amongst the trees when the rain is falling - somehow very special and ancient connections can be made with the beings of the woods at such times. When the rivers are high it is exhilarating and exciting! I love watching the water crashing and surging past on it's hungry way to the sea. And best of all, I like to think Mother Nature's arterial systems are flowing beautifully, and she is feeling good, good, good! :-)