Looking for 10 things about the rain to be grateful for.

Ah, April showers! They would be wonderful if only they weren't still happening in mid-May!
Feels like it's been raining and foggy and cloudy for about 6 weeks now. Friends are worried about getting webbed feet. Clerks in the stores commiserate with shoppers over the state of the weather.

One of my lavender beds, the double spiral containing about 50 plants, looks mostly rotted now, more plants in the octagon garden are in danger, but the main ones on the hillside seem to be surviving, more or less. On wet days like this some look dead and brown if the new leaves haven't appeared yet, and seem more vulnerable to rot.

The weeds are growing like mad as is the grass and yet it is too wet to get in the gardens to fend off the encroachment of nature or to mow the lawns, so they grow, and grow, not needing any sun..... unlike the seedlings I started indoors, now looking scrawny and leggy, and some deciding not to poke through at all until they feel some warmth! Looks like it's time to buy some grow lights.

But alas, I must not complain! For one thing, and a significant thing, we are not in danger of being flooded here on We Are One Farm, our little inland knoll at about 400 ft. above sea level, unlike a great portion of the western hemisphere at the moment: Manitoba and the Assiniboine River, the southern US along the Mississippi, southern Quebec & Northern Vermont on the Richilieu River, the country of Columbia facing it's worst natural disaster ever from flooding and rain, and goodness knows where else. And this is all happening on the heels of major tonadoes killing hundreds of folks down in the southern states as well. Weather is an unforgiving master that reminds us we are not in control.

I count my blessings every day that I live where I do, virtually immune, it seems, from most major natural disasters. I trust those will not be "famous last words".

But I must not complain either because it has been said by one of my readers (who is also a dear, but more perky and upbeat, friend) that I complain too much in my blogs, that they feel sort of "bah humbug!" and folks have enough humbug in their own lives and want to be inspired and uplifted!

Hmmm. So I have been pondering this feedback. I don't dispute that there have been some postings that have reflected the less happy side of life for sure....like my dog getting snared (but surviving), a cat missing since January, another cat keeping us up at night, the odd chicken passing on, and of course my annual fears about whether the lavender will survive another season in Nova Scotia.

There are a few things to worry about on the farm for sure, not to mention thoughts of natural disasters afflicting the rest of the world in increasing proportions it seems. Whether the latter is just a matter of perception due to the increased information sharing of the internet I know not. But it is occasionallly overwhelming when one stops to take in the magnitude of what has been happening in the past year or two around the globe.

But the fact is, I am not really complaining, about my life at least. I am merely commenting on the happenings in my daily experience, and offering my observations about the fragility and challenges of it sometimes. Admittedly, not everything is sunshine and roses. Usually somewhere in my blogs, I do try to reflect also on the bright spots, the parts that offer relief, the bits which give me hope. And in fact, in spite of the challenges, which we all face in some form, I am still happy.

And while I never actually created my blogs, at least the farm blog, to "inspire" anyone, I do try to to show that no matter what is happening in our lives, there are always moments of grace and gratitude, that ultimately help us keep going.

Complaining, like worrying, is like a rocking chair...that is, it gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere. And I have said before that the surest thing for me to get me out of a funk is to find something to be grateful for. So that said, I set myself a wee challenge, and that is to find 10 things about today's rain that I am grateful for. Here they are:

1. That it is keeping our well filled and the water table high so that we should have a good supply for the drier days of summer to come, both in the well and in the ponds which we use for irrigation if necessary.

2. The perennial herbs other than the lavender, like anise hyssop, lemon balm, catnip, chives and parsley, seem to be enjoying the rain, and leafing out nicely.

3. The colours in the woods take on an extra vibrance in the drizzle and fog, the mat of old leaves and pine needles underfoot and last year's ferns taking on a glossy, leathery reddish-brown, a rich backdrop for the punched-up greens of the new leaves and fresh mosses.

4. The wet rocks along the edges of the pond and gardens reveal deeper colours of red and purple and gold than they do when dry.

5. The feel of the wet and cool droplets on my face during my walk with the dog, which needs to happen rain or shine, sleet or snow, helps refresh me and wake me up from the mid-afternoon drowsies.

6. My moderately wavy hair takes on a kind of casual curliness that I like!

7. The sparse needles of the white pines in springtime each cling to a single droplet of the rain, looking like collections of bejeweled hatpins sparkling along the woods road.

8. The forest fire hazard level should be kept low for a while yet with all the water in the woods.

9. The chill from the dampness prompts us to build one more fire in the wood stove, adding a cosy atmosphere in the house.

10. And the inability to garden in the sodden, squishy ground means I am forced to stay inside and get some writing done!

Whew, I made it! I actually found 10 things good about today's rain! I could even find one more...it was raining so hard that I wasn't bothered by blackflies on my walk! But when it warms up in a couple of days, look out! They'll be back in force, gnawing a leg or an ear off as they did the other day. Oh, but I can't complain. Just don't ask me to find 10 things to be grateful for about blackflies!