Rainy Days & Wednesdays

Drops cling to my rose bushes this morning.

"Rain is grace;
rain is the sky 
descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life."
                         
                       --- John Updike

Pink and yellow blend in one rose petal.

In a state like Colorado, where on average there's about 245 sunny days a year (marketing reports "300 days a year" but most reports agree it's less than that,) it's a rare and remarkable morning to wake to the sound of rain.

This morning was misty, rainy, dark, overcast--and, one fine day!!

I know, the thrill of liquid precipitation may not hold the charm to those just now digging out from this month's latest devastating hurricanes, but here, where the annual rainfall is 14 inches (the US average is 39) a rain that settles in and is not in a rush to head to Kansas should be celebrated and savored.

The pond lies quiet and still in morning mist.

It encouraged me to brew an additional cup of tea, play "Yoga Radio" on Pandora and read uplifting material for a few extra minutes before considering the tasks ahead.

It's that kind of quiet slow time so often missing in my days, especially in my mornings.

It's officially "autumn" now, thanks to the equinox Sept. 22, and officially open season on more unpredictable weather.

Bright snapdragons add color to my fall gardens.

For instance, we left for a few days away last Thursday in nearly 90 degrees of hot, dry heat.  We returned Monday to 44 degrees and grateful for our new simple thermostats that allowed us to flip over to "heat" without having to research through two thick operating manuals for "how to change from a/c to heat."

A day like this reminds me of the joy in "simple." 

Like time to play the piano, slicing a perfectly crisp sweet apple from New Zealand, surprising a cloud of Monarch Butterflies savoring the last nectar on my Bee Balm and discovering my favorite Netflix series has new episodes--and I have time (or will make time!) to watch!!

Few blossoms remain on my Bee Balm, but enough to lure Monarch Butterflies!

This summer reminds me of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

There has been so much to try to comprehend and make some semblance of sense out of--crazy, unpredictable things like weather events and out-of-control wildfires--and, heart-breaking acts of kindness and self-sacrifice mixed in with deliberate acts of cruelty, bigotry and intolerance.

Missing petals remind me that summer is over and fall begins.

Colors begin their vibrant transition.

Perhaps that's why a day like this is so important--to give pause, to remind one of the cleansing beauty and life sustaining force of one single drop of rain.

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
                       --Melody Beattie


For me, this rain-entrenched day is uplifting to my spirit, reminds me of all I have that bring me joy, encourages me to breath, to find calmness in every day, and to share the best version of me with the world around me.

Raindrops sparkle as they are caught in a spider's web.