Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Boring rain - March 21, 2012

On Monday, we were going to get a used mattress from our friends Trenne and Dave, at the pub sing. Then it began to rain, and we realized we couldn't actually fit the mattress into our car and then fit the three of us in with it. So we had to make other plans.

It rained pretty hard, and blew away the bags of leaves that had been insulating the foundation at the southwest corner of our house. And we paid it very little mind. Probably I would have minded more if I had actually had to be outside in the downpour, but if there is one thing our urban construct is good at, it's keeping us dry most of the time.

It's been springlike, and now that the lilacs are leafing out and bulbs are popping up here and there, I think we can say it isn't just springlike. It's spring. Today's the equinox, so it's official, and I need to get back in the saddle writing this daily.

April showers, or March showers, are unpleasant more or less in proportion to the air temperature, and how waterproof your clothing is. It's been warm here: t-shirt weather mostly since we got back from out East on Friday. Even the fronts that brought the rain over the last couple days, though they brought snow to Montana, have only moderated what was frankly hot weather over the weekend. Now it's just unseasonably warm.

For all but a very few specialized jobs, winter stops "productive" outdoor activity: lumbering is one big exception. But the rains of spring time, though they can cause "mud season," also are directly productive... we gardeners are happy to see it, especially given the dryness of the winter.

Rain just isn't a big deal, certainly compared to snow. Flash floods in places, and some really exciting driving when a real gully-washer comes through. And the other aspects of summer storms, especially wind, can be downright terrifying. But rain itself is rarely actually dangerous, just uncomfortable.

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