Equinox Rains

 

        

        The rains returned on Thursday evening, heralding in the equinox with thunder and lightning.  Because it has been such a weird year—smoke in the valley, school on line, all of our usual seasonal markers thrown off—I did not recognize the rain for what is was, the return of green grass in the fall that happens every year about this time. Usually these rains are slow and deep, reaching into the ground and waking up our dormant grasses, sending my vines on one last frantic climb for the sky, signaling to the bees that it is a good time to pack in the last pollen for the year.  After months of dry air and dust, we rejoice in the familiar moisture in the air, the damp sidewalks, the smell of earth. This year, the rain came with a huge loud storm that flashed and rumbled until 2 AM and pooled on the earth. Still, it washed away the smoke and ash, cleared our air and minds and returning a small bit of balance to our lives.