By Louie Ferrera

This essay was written back in November during the first rainstorm of the year. Little did I know what was in store for us here in Northern California! It’s written in a stream of consciousness style. Take a breath and dive in!

Cypress trees spiral into a grey sky hummingbirds buzz and hum as they zip by impossibly backwards, forwards, sideways keeping warm on this deliciously cold and rainy late afternoon where everything has that just-washed glow…citrus leaves are particularly shinny their front and back sides show contrasting shades of green, the oranges and pinks of the zinnias and roses pop out in brilliant contrast against the muted greens of the apple tree leaves…the brown towhee hops, hops, hops across the lawn the rain brings worms to the surface which brings birds…rain sweet rain falling with a pit-pat-blip onto the deck roof which being plastic amplifies the sounds of the rain that’s why the rain always resonates so beautifully under here and this rain is so welcomed and appreciated after so many months of sun-hot-dry, sun-hot-dry I can actually feel the earth soaking in and giving thanks for this rain… and now the rooftop symphony picks up in intensity faster beats, louder, like thousands of seastones picked up from the beach and dropped here…the rain is really driving right now, the air out before me hazy with raindrops, skeletal plum tree branches drip crystal ball droplets, daylight savings time darkness slowly descending, it’s getting colder and rainier by the minute, it’s actually feeling like winter…winter-rain-cold, repeat and the smells, oh my the sweet aromas of wet earth, subtle perfume of mud I love this smell so much simply because I’ve rarely gotten to experience it in this sad and desperate age of climate change, but I’m here now, so present and IN this wet and wonderful barrage of winter…it’s getting darker, colors fading, solar lights begin to blink on, the lanterns cast circular glows onto the ground, Carol’s globe light, like the crystal ball of a shaman, sparkles in yellow points of starlight, a string of lights snakes through the plum tree, bluish LED glow, a helter-skelter scatter of jewel-like points of light. I look to the northwest and can see a lighter sky as this storm is beginning to move on…the rooftop symphony of raindrops is slowing down and becoming quieter now like small handfuls of sand being dropped one pinch at a time…someone is running out of sand because the rainsound has nearly ceased, only the blip-blop of our deck fountains can be heard…the earth and myself share a collective sigh…but wait! I’ve spoken to soon, this symphony has movements that still require our ears as this blessed rainstorm still has life in it…the darkness is nearly complete only the solar lights stand out like silent sentries, oh man I could listen to this rainsound all night, I imagine flowing rivers and creeks, waters tumbling over cobblestones, happy river otters and ducks spinning together in celebration and I’m celebrating in tandem with them, all of the creatures of the wild, my fellow residents of this glorious planet, the blue planet, third rock from the sun, the only home that any of us have or ever will call home. Amen!