July 12, 2024

Summer Rain

At 3:17 AM, the heavens opened, and rain dumped from the sky. Loud cracks of thunder woke us up throughout the night. Even though we felt a little tired in the morning, we were in good spirits because of the cooler weather. Also, Friday was here.

Coffee time entailed pleasant conversation, mostly about how we were ready for a good weekend. Last week, we had four days off work, but my wife used them to prepare for her end of curriculum exam. This weekend, nothing stood in our way.

When I walked my wife out the door, a large hawk flew over the front yard. I was happy to see the enormous raptor that lived nearby in the forest. The grass, that was dried and brown last week, was bright green and full of life after the heavy rain.

After my wife left, I sat down at my desk to write while slurping up a second cup of coffee. It sprinkled for about twenty minutes, and then the deluge continued. I loved seeing the storm, as inclement weather always made me happy. Bad weather had a way of snapping me out of my routine.

After a couple hours of writing, the rain subsided, as if nature herself were inviting me out for a walk. It seemed promising to go on a routine walk through the woods with a non-routine mindset. When I stepped outside my front door, there was a doe and her twin fawns feeding out in the pasture. The mother postured and stared at me. I said hello, turned the opposite way, and headed into the grove.

Just yesterday, while on my walk, I noticed there were no mushrooms in the forest. While my wife and I had found one type of miniature fungi, the large variety of mushrooms had vanished. This morning, after an evening of hard rain, there were mushrooms of every type everywhere. Some mushroom caps were as big and round as a softball. How did they grow so fast?

I usually noticed things in the forest that were different. Since I was there every day, changes really stood out. This morning, apart from the mushrooms, the most prevalent change was the intense smell of the forest. Maybe it was because everything was wet, but the various trees gave off a complex woodsy smell from pine to oak to cedar.

The woods smelled intoxicating. The scent wasn’t sweet like the spring blossoms, but fragrant like someone had taken the forest and distilled it to amplify its aroma. It reminded me of being in the Japanese forests in Hokkaido or at the Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo. It just smelled like Japan to me.

The sounds of the water rushing hit my ears before I could see the creek. With the hard rain, the creek swelled, spilling over the bank as it rushed through the woods. Because of all the sediment that was being carved from the creek bed, the water was a strange milky color with an orangish hue. It looked like a river of something between Thai tea and chocolate milk.

As I moved westward toward the marsh, I looked back at the creek, noticing an anomaly in the water flow. I waited and after a minute; I saw it. A large beaver was swimming through the clouded water. I circled back toward the creek and caught another glimpse of the animal swimming, with most of its body submerged beneath the opaque surface. Only a small face, dark eyes, and whiskers poked out of the water. I grabbed a quick picture, happy to capture the moment.

To my surprise, the water in the marsh area was not milky, but clear as usual. This made me think a dam on the north stream might have broken east of the marsh, pushing more water into the southern part of the creek. I made my way back to the house, happy to have seen the little animal, eager to tell my wife. Beaver sightings were always cool.

The first half of the workday was busy, and lunch arrived more quickly than expected. I drove into Wilson to pick up groceries at Harris Teeter, and then picked up a salad from Panera, eating it when I arrived back home. The drive was full of hard rain and wet roads.

The afternoon was busy, but I felt relaxed in my office. I opened the blinds in the room and occasionally turned my head to examine the weather. The rainfall changed throughout the day, sometimes drizzling and other times pouring down so hard that it was difficult to hear the music playing in my office. Lightning flashes made my room flicker while thunder shook the house hard enough to set off the dogs. This was my preferred weather, and I was happy to have a reprieve from the sweltering heat.

The dogs and I were happy when my wife arrived home. I helped her carry her things inside the house and we caught up on the day’s events. I told her about the beaver and she told me more about a work opportunity she was pursuing. Although my wife still had a test to get ready for, school seemed to loosen its grip on our lives, and we were both relaxing into the thought of having more free time.

After work was over, my wife and I made a trip to the Piggly Wiggly in Bailey, where we purchased a few things for dinner. My wife pan fried ribeyes with fresh garlic, rosemary, and butter. We ate the steaks with a large wedge salad, accompanied by one cold IPA each. It was a nice dinner, which was followed by our evening chores of doing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen, and feeding the dogs.

Although we were both tired, we felt excited for the weekend. Tomorrow, we planned to drive into Raleigh to visit a bookstore and get lunch. For now, however, it was time to let go of the workweek and get some sleep.