Thursday, August 4, 2016

The Rainy Season


Thursday evening, after a late afternoon shower.


Recently every day has brought us some amount of rain--usually accompanied by the rumble of thunder. Clouds come rolling in and the sky darkens, usually late in the afternoon.
Pounding night time rain has battered my bedraggled flower border, soaking the base of lavender, achillea and dianthus plants, some of which are looking very poorly. the thought of losing cherished plants is very frustrating.
I look at the weeds which have poked up through the layer of mulch and I despair of ever controlling the unwanted invaders.

Four o'clocks are spreading and flourishing in the cloudy weather.

We had company from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday morning, Jim's older sister and her husband who have purchased a motor home for the purpose of having their own space while making some family visits.
On Monday we took them on a tour of winding country roads in the next county. 
Tuesday I commandeered the car so that Joyce and I could make a leisurely rummage at the Goodwill shop and also pick up a few grocery items while the men dealt with a small repair on the motor home.
We talked endlessly and shared simple but delicious meals.

Several of our cats do not enjoy having guests in the house, creeping warily downstairs only when they are sure that Jim and I are the only ones present.
The three 'boy cats' who usually like to pop in and out of the house during the daytime, have been content to spend more time inside sprawling in air-conditioned comfort rather than braving the outside heat and humidity. 

I have realized that attempting to work outside in such weather is not a healthy undertaking.
I  peg out laundry on the back porch, walk slowly down the lane to the mail box or to offer the goats slices of cantaloupe rind, then return to the cool shelter of dim farmhouse rooms.
I have puttered at the usual housekeeping tasks, done a bit of utility sewing.
I have sat at my desk reading way too many news articles regarding the current astonishing and disheartening political stunts of the day.
I need to restrict this habit before it becomes a serious time waster!

Last evening, working quietly at my desk after Jim had gone to bed I suddenly realized that several cats had lined up behind my chair and were staring intently upward.
This little winged creature was clinging to the wall.


Note the delicate pink shading on the wing tips.
I don't know where it went, but I'm quite sure it didn't fall victim to curious felines.

In these weeks of recuperating from the flu, of staying indoors to avoid the heat, there has been a sense of marking time--desultory pursuits, lack of visible accomplishments.
As I contemplate the changes of weather and seasons which will come about as the month of August progresses, I find that my mind is turning toward projects to be completed. 
I had nearly despaired, wondering if creativity had deserted me.
I suspect I need to shake myself into better order, concentrate on the quiet joy of making and doing rather than setting myself unreasonable goals.
Anticipation of returning energy is inspiring!



14 comments:

  1. Wish we could have some of that rain! I am avoiding any political news-makes me feel anxious and depressed. I'm trying to just concentrate on the day to day things of family and home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jan; I am determined to wean myself from the recently acquired 'news' habit. Surely I could use that time more creatively.
      Is there ever a season with the perfect balance of rain and no-rain!

      Delete
  2. We need rain as well, weather has been very windy and drying. I think this mid summer period is a bit disheartening, our creativity suddenly goes missing and there is a feeling that life is on a downturn. I get fraught by the closing down of accounts for the cottage which is sold now, thought I would be happy at the end of it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thelma; An article posted in our local on-line news source informed us this week that July had brought a 'record' rainfall. Hadn't we guessed?
      I like your word--'fraught'--a good description of the unsettled feelings that bombard us during times of transition--even when we have orchestrated the changes.

      Delete
  3. We've had rain only once in the last 2 weeks. Just heat and humidity. I miss my garden, but the heat won't let me outdoors to do much. I'm so looking forward to fall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janet; Isn't it odd that uncomfortable amounts of humidity exist even when it hasn't just rained? It feels as though we could reach up, grab a handful of air and squeeze it like a sponge!

      Delete
  4. Staying indoors and pottering about is the only sensible thing to do in the kind of temperatures that you seem to be having. Energy and enthusiasm will return with the cooler autumn days:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rowan; At this point I need to look the other way when walking past the garden--it is too disheartening to squelch about and attempt a salvage operation.
      Thank heaven for books and air conditioning inside!

      Delete
  5. It feels like autumn here already, though we had a lovely sunny day yesterday. We've not had a lot of heavy rain (apart from one night) but we have had it far too regularly in the past week or so.

    When you have had flu it takes some getting over and I hope your pottering about and then taking your ease is helping you get better. Lovely to have family visit and enjoy their company for a while.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jennie; No end in sight for the daily showers which are keeping us too wet here.
      I suspect that 'pottering about' could become a way of life for me--perhaps this is due to incipient 'old age' rather than a lingering effect of flu [?]

      Delete
  6. I too, have spent much too much time, on "the news." About which I can do nothing! But it is also so hard, to wean myself from it. -sigh-

    I get to feeling that I am "fiddling while Rome burns" and etc.

    And yet, I myself can do nothing, about any/all of the things, which so inflame my mind.

    So.... Wisdom says leave it alone.

    Oh sigh... I know. I know. And I am. (mostly) And I will continue to do so. (I hope.)

    -big, big sigh-

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Luna; I tell myself that I'm wasting time on 'news' that is a rehashing of current events--with no real way of determining what is truth and what is a calculated 'spin.' And, as you say, nothing we can do about any of it.
      I'm really trying to strike a balance between being somewhat informed as opposed to obsessed!

      Delete
  7. Any complaints I might have had about the lack of rain are now old news. 85% humidity and temps in the high eighties for days on end have resulted in some very serious indolence. Our rain gauge tells us that we have made up nearly all of the defecit. No air conditioning in the house but we do have a fan in the bedroom and that is sufficient. No point in trying to work in the garden so I've been trying to keep up with the deadheading and snipping off the tomato leave afflicted with late blight. This too shall pass!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mundi; The weather seems stuck in a pattern of heat and humidity with the attendant discomforts.
    I think tomato blight is becoming a liability wherever we happen to garden--it is a serious threat here in KY.
    The heat will pass [!] and we can hope for a long and leisurely autumn.

    ReplyDelete