June 7, 2008 Thna l-Hal

It’s been sunny for the past week or two, so yesterday’s sprinkling was nice. It turned into a harder rain for a couple minutes, but it was such a tiny storm that a friend who’d gone running to the lakes – just 5 km away – didn’t even know that there had been rain.

Today, though, we got a slam-banging thunderstorm. The winds were fierce enough that the poplars outside my window were leaning like the Mad Hatter’s hat, and the rustling leaves from those four trees were loud enough to be heard through my closed window. When I heard the storm coming, though, I threw open the window to watch it. (This isn’t quite as foolish as it sounds: the walls are 18” thick concrete, and the windows are set all the way back in, so there’s quite a bit of shelter, even when they’re open.) The drops came slowly at first, then faster and faster until they were pelting the ground like guided missiles. They were falling sideways because of the driving wind. The smell of the wet mud from the courtyard – the smell of summer rain – grew stronger and stronger with the passing minutes. Soon the whole yard was drenched, and the shutters were rattling. When the wind shifted slightly, I drew the shutters partially closed to shield me from the falling rain, but I kept leaning on the windowsill. It occurred to me that I’d meant to do laundry this morning, but got distracted. Good thing - the clothesline strained and flailed in the wind like a leashed wildcat.

It was coming close to lunchtime, so I decided to make the dash from my side of the house across the courtyard, just so that no one would have to come out in the rain to let me know when it was ready. In the time it took me to pull on a jacket and shoes, the rain had slackened enough that I barely got sprinkled during my walk across the courtyard.

Now, about two hours later, the sun is out, the birds are chirping (loudly!), and I’m ready to trust my clothes to the line.

The weather is fine (thna l-Hal). Of course, being a storm nut like I am, I’ve thought it was mighty fine all day. :)