It’s a glorious grey dawn and autumn is at its mid-point. Pounding rain rat-a-tats on the plastic roof of our backyard deck. This is such a sanctuary for me, it’s the ideal place from which to watch the seasons change. Wind and rain rush through the trees with a woosh, wind chimes sing low, mid and high tones in a symphony of sound. For the time being the birds are hunkered down, waiting out this storm in the comfort of their various hiding places. I’m thinking that perhaps one or two individuals may brave the rain to nip at the seed feeders; the feisty chickadees and oak titmice are likely candidates. Well, it looks like I’m wrong because a solitary  Anna’s hummingbird just buzzed in to take a dip and a drink from one of the feeders that hangs under the deck roof. I have so much admiration for these little birds! I’ll be standing near one of their feeders and out of nowhere I’ll get dive bombed, the robotic buzz reverberates in my ear. “Stand back human, this is my territory and I’m hungry!”

The deck boards are shining right now, the deep hues of redwood come alive in the rain. I left a handful of apples exposed out on a table last night, orbs of various sizes glisten in shades of green, yellow and red, the rain makes them appear to glow from within.  Many more apples litter the ground beneath the tree. This has been an absolutely banner year for our little tree. Carol has made apple sauce and apple butter and apple pies, I’ve been pressing apples into sweet  juice. The birds are pecking at them, night critters are gnawing at them. Yesterday I found a half-eaten apple atop a small wooden platform in our barren plum  tree.This is no doubt the work of “Mr. Nibbles”, the catchall name we’ve given to every marauding squirrel that inhabits our yard. These mischievous little devils even gnaw the tops off of giant sunflowers and carry them away to feast on the seeds.

Nowadays I fancy myself a latter day Johnny Appleseed, spreading the love and goodness of these delectable fruits to nearly everyone I touch. The women at the barber shop got a bag full, everyone at my dentists’ office got  one, people in my yoga class have been enjoying apples for weeks now. It feels good to spread this gift around to others, after all not everyone is fortunate enough to have their own apple making machine!

Meanwhile, the Van Gogh cypress trees that border our yard on two sides sway gracefully from side to side, but as the wind picks up the sway becomes a whip-snap motion.The waxy leaves of our many citrus trees are shining, having been scrubbed clean by the rain. Everything is so alive this morning, including myself! The trees and the shrubs and the chimes and the sun spinners are all doing their own unique dance in celebration of this peaceful, rain drenched morning.

Now the rain has nearly stopped, its sound reduced to a whisper. I think this is just a brief respite though; by the looks of the sky this storm is shaping up to be an all day affair. It looks like we’re in for another wet year…yea!! After years of drought and wildfires I’m so grateful for every precious drop that falls. The trees and the flowers and the earth and ME are all sighing with contentment.  I guess I spoke too soon because the whisper has become a rat-a-tat once again as the rain is falling with increased vigor. The chimes are singing too and now a tree frog has joined the choir with its ratcheting croak. The rain sounds like millions of tiny pebbles are being dropped onto the roof. 

Remember “Mr. Nibbles?” well he just scurried under the apple tree, grabbed a piece of fruit larger than its head, leaped the fence and disappeared into our neighbor’s yard. This is one happy squirrel. So it goes on this wet and wonderful morning!