Soaked Satisfaction

It began late Wednesday night: The steady thrum of rain on our roof. Is there any better sound to drift off to sleep to … ? Thursday morning I wake to more of the same … it’s been raining all night. Around mid-morning the drumbeat slows to a barely audible hum; I have to go outside and have a look around. Grabbing my hoodie I step out; it’s still sprinkling a bit and really very cool. But, I love the look of my garden when it’s wet, so I risk my point-and-shoot’s health to capture these images. Above, my knife leaf acacia and an assortment of collected rocks’n’pots.

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To exult is to show elation or jubilation, and I’m tempted to think that some of my prized succulents have been doing just that in the rain — their colors are heightened and deeper; their spiky reaches broader. In celebration, our super-tall-and-gorgeous blue cactus has begun to bud and bloom! Deep purple, almost-black buds open to reveal creamy blossoms that contrast beautifully against cool blue flesh. Almost impossibly straight, the tallest of these pilosocereus azureus columns measures almost 8-feet.

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Outside the fence, looking past the historic Evergreen Cemetery and toward downtown, the skies are grey and heavy with moisture. Later, the rains will begin again and continue throughout the day and into the night. As I post this Friday morning, the sun is out. But I can see clouds beginning to crowd in from all sides, and the weather report tells me the weekend will be a wet one. I’m happy; I know our garden hoses will remain furled for at least two weeks.