Enjoying the rain

Rainy afternoon at the farm.

Many years ago, a friend from Seattle came to visit while South Carolina was in the middle of a drought.  We went out to Congaree Swamp and got caught in a downpour, and he simply could not understand my ecstatic dance as the rain cooled the 100 degree day and provided much needed water to our state.  It continued to pour for hours, the parking  lot at the baseball park flooded, and still I was happy.  Now, I would also not have understood when I lived in Germany or England, but, like Seattle, rain is more common in both of those places than sunshine, which is what makes all the scenic photos and postcards so lush and green!  

The area of Georgia where our farm is located has been edging into a drought, and working on weed-eating and finishing the water lines has been hot, sweaty work the past few days.   The good thing is that the fig trees and Goldenrain trees are hanging in there, presumably pushing their roots down into the Georgia clay, which will help them in the long run.    Still, the daylilies are a little brown and two of the Goldenraintrees were a little

The "redneck living room"

droopy, but this afternoon it started to rain.   We bought a bench and a beach umbrella a couple of days ago, and when the rain started we sat in what I have dubbed the redneck living room and listened to the rain fall in our woods and on the umbrella.  We stayed there until the rain soaked through our jeans and just enjoyed the sounds of the rain and the birds.   Once our jeans were so wet that we couldn't bend our legs, we decided to head back to the RV where we have continued to listen to the rain for the past 4 hours.

One other thing I noticed today is that the soil around the figs was still damp this morning from the water I put on them yesterday.   That made schlepping a watering can and milk jug of water 300 or so yards worthwhile!   We're used to dealing with South Carolina sand that feels bone dry an hour after the sprinklers run.   It's no wonder that the daylilies here look better than the ones in Columbia that get watered 3 times a week.

There is more rain forecast for the next few days, and I am still thankful after seeing the corn and the hay fields so very dry around here.   I'm enjoying reading The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy again and we both needed a relaxing afternoon.   Now, if it rains for two weeks straight again, like it did over winter break, I'll be back to complaining, but for now the sound of rain is a good thing.