“Nature is at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.”—John Muir
These photos were taken in the last 72 hours between the series of rainfalls we’ve been having of late in the South Bay, most of them where we live and the rest between going to Courtside Bay club and running errands.
Photographers will tell you that the best time to take a photograph is immediately after it rains. During a rain storm the clouds are diffuse, dark and murky. But afterwards there is a golden opportunity—a moment of unparalleled clarity. The cloud formation one sees can be so dramatic. After a storm passes, the blue sky emerges adding a stunning contrast to the broken clouds.
The birds, Geese and ducks take shelter in a rain storm. It’s a myth that ducks like the rain, other than perhaps a misty rain. Turtles retreat to lower levels, then when the sun pops out the geese and ducks can be seen gliding gently on the pond again and the turtles can be found sunbathing on the rocks. The ponds and lake become still and the landscape and flowers glisten again.
Quoting John Muir again, “Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy,” while every care in the world will “drop off like autumn leaves.”
And finally, ending with a poem that I adapted by Catherine Defreitas called:
“Rain by Mother Nature.”
"She sets up and dims the lights
…wind blowing through lush green trees
With the sun peaking over the glittering hills…
She slips away and hides in solitude
To write another song
To shatter the earthly silence
Once again to amaze us all
And shower us with ‘Rain’”
It looks like we are in for another round of rain.
Enjoy!
