Raindrops - Falling on My Head

On Friday morning, I awoke to a sound I haven't heard in weeks: rain. Sweet, life-giving, moisture producing RAIN! Even as I wrestled with my umbrella while running errands I didn't complain. It had been so long since it's rained here that it was a welcome, blessed rain.

So what did I do first thing that morning when I woke up to the lovely sound of rain? I grabbed my camera, dressed it in its rain sleeve and took it out to play in the rain (per Judy's suggestion).

Here you see it on my camera after the rain adventure. The rain sleeve served me well and the collapsible lens hood that I use on my 50mm compact macro was ideal for shielding the lens from rain. Most any lens hood would probably do the trick. Although the camera appeared to be bone dry, I wiped it down well with a dry, clean rag and then did the same for the lens hood after removing it from the lens.

Now lets's take a look at what I found.

Lovely little droplets everywhere.

Impatiens that hadn't been this happy in weeks.

Birdbaths full to overflowing.

And, because you knew I couldn't resist it - raindrops on roses.

Although according to the official US drought map, we're just east of the drought area, our area is plenty dry and before Friday, certainly flirting with drought conditions. Our river birch trees have been struggling since they're water lovers; our grass is crunchy and yellow; our day lily beds have already gone to brown stalks; what flowers we have are stunted. Although we don't worry about watering grass, we do look after our trees, roses and flowerpots. Our next water bill may rival the national debt. So the rain from this past weekend was a welcome relief to us.

In addition to being overjoyed with the much-needed rainfall, I was tickled pink to be able to take Judy's suggestion from a couple of weeks ago and play out in the rain. What about you? Have you had a chance to play in the rain yet? If you have, I hope you'll share some of your rainy pictures with us on our Flickr page. In my book, they qualify as "Water".

Oh! And don't forget to label them.

A random thought: Have you ever thought about what fickle people we are? When there's not enough rain, we grumble. When there's too much rain, we complain. When it's too hot, we're unhappy. When it's too cold, we're grouchy. Something to ponder ...

(I'd also like to invite you to join me on my personal blog Camper where I did some musing on another kind of water.)