Enjoying the Sweet Scent of Summertime Rain.
I've never been too fond of the summertime heat; in fact, one could say the hot sun that fills up July afternoons definitely, and almost always, makes this Willow wilt. Don't get me wrong, hot days spent basking in the sun by the pool or getting sun-drenched in the garden can be glorious, but after a couple hours in the heat, I'm withered by the warmth and ready to cool down, and thankfully mother earth is too.
Humidity never strikes twice back to back - at least not without a rainstorm in between. Some days they rumble in rashly, doing their job in a matter of minutes before silently and steadily swooping out, and other days the rain swishes in slow and soft, settling in to stay. Typically this comes after lunch, around 2pm, just in time for an afternoon nap. Immense bodies of dense and heavy dark gray Nimbus clouds replace the pillowy pockets of Cumulus's that once filled the clear and vast blue sky.
An instantaneous coolness permeates the entire atmosphere around me, and then the magical melody of the rain begins. But even before that, I can smell it coming. It may sound odd, and it probably is, but to me, there's nothing like the sweet scent of a summertime storm. Pleased by the musky, fresh aromas of the rain and happily cooled by the slight temperature change, no rush is taken as I head for shelter. I may get a bit damp wandering back to the house, fleet-footed and energized, but I don't mind a bit. Refreshed and content, I wait out the rest of the storm on the front porch; my mind is gently cleared by the sound of the pitter-pattering drops on my metal roof.
In my book, part of the perfection of a summertime storm is that it doesn't last long. After a short rest and reprieve, the golden sun pops out, and the sky opens and brightens once again. And, if I happen to have supreme luck that day, I may even spot a rainbow over the lush and still misty mountains in the distance.
After the cooling madness of the storm is done, the heat quickly fills the air again, but it's not so bad this time. Revived and ready, I step back into the garden to finish the day and savor the warmth before the delicate evening shade graces me with its cool and calm serenity. No matter what heat tomorrow may bring, I hope it gets calmly tempered by a sweet bout of afternoon rain to refresh and revive us all.