A Wet Weekend

SEVERAL days this week there's been rain forecast, and we've rushed to look at dopplar radar images to see if any is headed this way. It's like our neighbourhood is in a little rain-sheltered bubble, because we can be surrounded by green and red on the radar (rain and big rain!) but somehow it always manages to turn aside.

So when we decided to spend our Sunday morning outdoors at a nature center, we thought nothing of the little sprinkle that started to fall as we were packing the car. We added rain coats just in case but expected the rain to blow on by as usual. Only it didn't!

No matter; we got to explore the drippy and splashy world of the woods in the rain. Not surprisingly we were the only people there. A lot of the wildlife had taken refuge too: "Where birds go, Mama?" noticed Emma. I recently read that squirrels shelter from the rain by holding their bushy tails over their heads like an umbrella, but we didn't spot any.

The little hut we thought was on the property proved to be too elusive to find, so we enjoyed our picnic (fairly hurriedly) within the branches of a huge magnolia tree on a conveniently-placed bench. When it began to thunder we made our way back, stopping briefly at the Treehouse, an observation structure built over a wetland area. The approaching bright sky and lull in the rain was just a teaser as a fully blown thunderstorm soon reared its head, so we called it a day and scurried back to the car.

Down came the raindrops on a cloudy day
Wetting all the pavements, washing dirt away
Waking little brown buds, thirsty seeds as well
Right into the blades of grass the tiny raindrops fell.

Pitter patter pitter patter this is how it came
Pitter patter pitter patter we can do the same.
Pitter patter pitter patter children though we be
Giver of the welcome rain we give our thanks to thee.