Once long ago on a rainy afternoon at the Winthrop Circle house in Mississippi, there was a sudden downpour and we opened all the doors and windows and felt the rain and smelled that odor of wetness and leaves and dust mixing with the drops of water. Can you bring such an experience back to mind now?
It is an incredible feeling of sensuality. Lying down on the rug in front of the window and watching the raindrops fall to the earth gives a feeling of snugness and security, even closeness and warmth. There is a closeness to Nature and the Sender of the rain.
When I lived in Morro Bay, I had a spell of being taken with calligraphy. I even went to a local class. I have one of the writings on my kitchen wall from my instructor. It says: "Man despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments, owes his existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains." By Anonymous. Now that's an opening philosophical topic for discussion. I would venture that it is also Man's ingenuity and creativity in dealing with those conditions. This same ingenuity would be put to good use if he could figure a way to channel all the excess water east of the Mississippi to the drought ridden areas in the West.
After seeing the movie Waterworld, which came out a few years ago, one starts thinking about water. The importance of it and its enduring beauty and yet, its power and potential for destruction. The idea of too much of a good thing . . . I've always had a fascination for water and valued its quality and taste. One of the first things I do when considering a move is to research what kind of water is available and its relative hardness and softness. When I was growing up, we would catch the rain water in barrels, because it was supposed to be soft and good to use to wash one's hair. Rainwater Soft.
I wanted to talk about gardening today, but ended up talking about rain and water. Strawberries, watermelons, and cherries will have to wait for another day, a sunnier one.
© 1997-2001 Ann Johnson Donovan. All Rights Reserved. Webmaster
Material on this page and website may not be used or reproduced without owner's permission.
Intended for personal use only and not for uploading, publication or resale.
