rain and other stories

the cloud that brought the rain

After having storm cloud after storm cloud pass over us for months, we finally got rain yesterday. That may not sound like such a momentous occasion except for the fact that we haven't had any rain since January besides a sprinkle or two that didn't even get the concrete wet. It rained hard for about 45 minutes and then rained gently for hours. All the plants look very happy. Nourished. The birds are chirping loudly and on the ground this morning foraging for the bugs and worms. When I went out after the rain had stopped, I did not see a single puddle anywhere. The desiccated cracked ground soaked it up like a sponge. Instead of the hard dry surface, now the ground gives softly when trod on.

the sunset it left behind

I think I mentioned that one of the small hawks that patrol around here has built a nest in the very top of one of our pecan trees. I can only see it from one spot in the yard. Occasionally I see her sitting on the nest but I don't think she has eggs in it yet as most times I don't see her at all. Perhaps she is still building it. Those branches at the top of the tree are small and flexible and when the storm was blowing in, they were thrashing around like mad. She must have her nest jammed in there pretty good because it doesn't look like she lost a single stick.

My sister's catalpa tree is blooming. She planted this tree herself. This will be the last season she gets to see it though because she is selling her house and she has to be out by the end of June. Now that she is living alone, she doesn't feel comfortable being so far from town. Not to mention that the big house and two acres requires more maintenance than she wants to do by herself. She's got her eye on a place in town but they are still haggling over the price. In the meantime, I go over every evening and help her pack.

The corn in the fields has been green and healthy looking despite the drought. Our garden is doing pretty well too. Tomatoes, bell and banana peppers, zucchini, brussels sprouts (left over from the winter garden when they did not grow even half an inch), cucumbers, okra, pole beans. Still learning about this food gardening. Last year I planted bush beans. This year we planted pole beans because I got tired of having to bend over to pick the beans only, we planted too many beans around our single teepee of poles and our poles are way too tall. Now I'm going to need a ladder to pick the beans.

And finally, we've gotten some work in, two jobs, one on a fast track which, believe me, after months of no work, I don't mind at all. Job 1 is two shower enclosures for a vacation home and job 2 is two 5' x 5' windows and two door lites in a garden room. We'll be spending a lot of time in the city over the next several weeks.