A Good Rain

There is nothing like a good rain. Not the kind you get on cold November days or early spring that are sleetish, fierce and grumpy. 
I mean a gentle welcoming downpour and just soaks everything. 
They are great for cooling things off after a hot day and making the flowers perk up. Birds laugh and sing, excited for the crop of easy picking worms. And who doesn't like the sound of the rain falling on a tin roof?

I like to get on my "little red riding hood" rain coat (a fire engine red slicker), flip the hood over my head and head out. I don't have a pair of good rubber boots, but if I did, they would be yellow and I would take on every puddle like nobody's business. 

The rain falls on my slicker with a little rat-a-tat-tat sound, like popcorn and the steady drizzle all around sounds like constant applause, sometimes getting louder depending on the intensity. I pass by a rain gutter to hear the water gurgling happily underneath.
If Amelia is with me, the smells are more than she can handle. 

When we were in Italy, we headed out one day to peruse Rome. Dressed in typical summer wear we were not prepared for rain. But before we knew it the rain started up and industrious men were yelling "Brelli, brelli, brelli?" at us everwhere and holding out umbrellas to buy. Alas, we were already soaked to the skin, didn't seem much point in taking on an umbrella at that point. The ancient cobble stones shone and I could not help wondering how much dust had been washed away only to be tromped in by the history of human feet bringing it all back. I stopped to take the photo below of my family walking along but I can't help but notice the smirk on the man's face who is sitting the rain out under cover watching the silly tourists getting wet!

 By the time we got back to our hotel, the owner, a dead ringer for Antonio Banderas complete with ponytail, took one look at me and said in his lovely italian accent "oh.....Poor Mama!" Can't complain. I got to walk in the rain in Rome! 

So if you are in the middle of a rainy day and it's a "good rain" that you are watching glumly from your window, I say grab your "brelli" or you rain slicker, get on out there and enjoy the cocooning effect of rain falling all around you with all it sights, smells and sounds.