Do you remember the old children’s rhyme that goes:
Rain, Rain, go away!
Come again some other day.
As I looked through my photographs taken in May, searching for the one that resonated most with my heart, I realized that I’d photographed smoke in the sky from three different wildfires during the month. And it’s not even summer yet.
Before I moved here I looked up climate statistics for the area and learned that the average annual rainfall was between 8-1/2 and 9 inches. Pretty arid, right? Well, yesterday I looked up some recent actual rainfall statistics. In the year before I moved here, only 4 inches fell. And in the year since I came, we have had only 2.03 inches. That’s right, two inches of rain for the entire year.
It’s no wonder the squirrels and rabbits are eating every green thing they can reach in the garden, even things they normally don’t care for, like sage and lavender. There’s not much for them anywhere else.
So you can understand why, when I woke up on the morning of May 6 and saw raindrops suspended from the tips of the pine needles, I grabbed my camera to memorialize the occasion. We got a grand total of .06 inches (1.5 mm) that day. There’s been none since. It looks like it’s going to be a long summer.
Rain, Rain, come, I pray!
You are welcome any day.
Linking with Kat Eye Studio for the May Photo-Heart Connection. Anyone is welcome to join in — come check it out.
June 4, 2013 at 7:28 pm
Ordinary Magic! “Rain Rain Rain Beautiful Rain!”
June 5, 2013 at 1:21 am
Aaaah – me too! I love the spring rain!! What a magical image!
June 5, 2013 at 5:07 am
Oh, I wish I could send some of our rain your way! We did have a drought last summer, but so far this spring has been wet and green! I can see how you would be grateful for every drop of rain you receive. I love your shot, those drops look like diamonds and are probably as precious as diamonds to you!
June 5, 2013 at 5:10 am
Great image. We seem to have had your (and several other’s share) of rain this year…though we are currently enjoying a sunny period which is very welcome. I can’t image so little rain – or being so happy to see it! – but I understand why you are. Are I love the feeling of refreshment you’ve captured in the image.
June 5, 2013 at 5:26 am
Look at that sharp focus capturing the glistening drops. I can see why rain would be so welcome to you. I hope the lack of rain does not mean water shortage and rationing. I’m guessing you may have a well in that locale. Must be deep.
You know I don’t like snow or rain or grey days-but I think without one now and then, even I-grey day grump would relish one from time to time.
Happy day my friend.
Hey, May came and went….no Leon. : (
June 5, 2013 at 1:37 pm
How easy it is to take something as simple as rain for granted. And how many times I have complained about the fact that rain “messed up” my plans for the day – that makes me feel slightly sheepish in light of what you have to deal with.
What a gorgeous image – those drops of rain look like precious diamonds – and how true that this moisture is indeed that precious.
June 5, 2013 at 2:31 pm
It’s beautiful, Lee, but I sure hope you get some rain soon.
I would send you some if I could,because we have certainly had more than our share here.
Wishing you a wonderful evening!
June 5, 2013 at 4:03 pm
Wishing you an unexpected, but no doubt welcome, rain event. We’re at the very beginning of our annual rainy season–we are hoping for enough rain to green everything up and fill the reservoirs without damaging flooding.
June 5, 2013 at 4:43 pm
I love the clarity in your photos. Raindrops on flowers and leaves are my favorite.
June 5, 2013 at 6:02 pm
Plenty of rain where I am. Wish I could send it your way. I love the image you’ve created!
June 5, 2013 at 11:30 pm
What a beautiful image! So interesting to read your post and all the comments – we have such different perspectives on the weather. (I’m in one of the rainy spots, too!)
June 7, 2013 at 4:22 am
Hi Lee,
You have captured this sentiment so well. Every drop is so precious in this situation. It has been downright scary here in Colorado for years too.
Best wishes…
xoxo
June 7, 2013 at 8:14 am
This is so lovely as is your post. I would gladly send you some rain from here but not just at the moment, we are having a hot dry spell!
June 7, 2013 at 8:17 am
It’s amazing how something as simple as rain can be reviled or revered depending on how long it’s been since you’ve seen it! I love the way you’ve transformed the poem, asking the rain to come. Wonderful image and a very different feel from what we usually see of your area. Thanks for sharing in the Photo-Heart Connection.
June 8, 2013 at 8:02 pm
rain is an intoxication all its own that costs us nothing …
June 9, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Oh… I can understand you joy. When the weather is dry, rain is like a miracle. Wonderful photo-heart connection