I Love the Rain, Don’t You?

« Viewing the Future from Dizzying Heights

I Love the Rain, Don’t You?

May 19, 2015 by dorannrule

As long as our storms are sans lightning and thunder, I love the rain. A little thunder and I head for the closet.

I love the sound of rain though – the harder the better, and the sweet clean scents afterward, and the way plants perk up so happily refreshed.

Our Hosta in the front garden has grown to enormous proportions the way certain things do around here in rural Virginia.

Due to black thumbs, if we plant something, our expectations are minimal. We expect an early demise. But if it surprises us and actually lives, we know it will grow by mega leaps and never stop.

Jack of the Bean Stalk would feel right at home here, and I’m sure he was observing when we had to climb a step ladder to trim a little burning bush that had grown so tall we couldn’t see the top anymore.

And now the Hosta (which lives right next to that gargantuan Rhododendron) is the size of a Volkswagon! Well yes, the Hosta does need dividing – someday.

Her leaves are REALLY big and catch the raindrops for a sparkly show even when the rain has stopped.

I am experimenting again with a free online photo editing program. It wasn’t really raining but I tried that effect and the caption was added that way too.

The raindrops are real though.

More storms expected tonight or tomorrow to keep my world emerald green.

I love the rain.

Don’t you?

Posted in Awesome Fotos, Camera-Walking, Country Fotos, Country Thoughts, Gardening, How To, Humor, Photography | Tagged Burning Bush, gardening, Hosta, Photo Editing, Photo Effects, photography, Rain, raindrops, storms | 33 Comments

33 Responses

on May 19, 2015 at 2:50 pm John

It is a wonderful, clean scent indeed. We get that very infrequently in the desert, and the scent is different too. I do miss those Michigan rains. The thunder is exciting, the lightning so dangerous. Several years ago, I was standing in the kitchen making a tuna sandwich when lightning struck our little TV antenna tower. Blue flames were seen shooting out of the electrical outlets. No fire yay!

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on May 19, 2015 at 3:07 pm Andrew

I love the rain. Just wish we’d actually get some out here in California. Could you send some of your extra our way? Thanks. 🙂

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on May 19, 2015 at 4:00 pm McKinney Ted

Just last week I learned the name for the “scent of rain”—petrichor. That aroma is something we all loved, growing up in Miami. And I remember it even more vividly from my summers with the cousins in north Alabama, with the unpaved roads of Paint Rock Valley.

I am planning to go visit them next month and I explored the possibility of accepting your long-ago offer of Virginia hospitality. But the realities of distances and my schedule convinced me that I can’t do it on this trip.

(I wish California had a more reliable offering of petrichor! Cheers, Ted

Here’s the Wikipedia explanation:

Petrichor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Scent of rain” redirects here. For the play, see Scent of Rain . For other uses, see Scent of Rain (disambiguation) . “Smell of rain” redirects here. For the album, see The Smell of Rain . Rainfall Petrichor (/ ˈ p ɛ t r ɨ k ɔər / ) is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil . The word is constructed from Greek , petra, meaning ‘stone’, + ichor , the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology. The term was coined in 1964 by two researchers, Isabel Joy Bear (Australian ) and Roderick G. Thomas (British ), for an article in the journal Nature .[1] [2] In the article, the authors describe how the smell derives from an oil exuded by certain plants during dry periods, whereupon it is absorbed by clay -based soils and rocks . During rain, the oil is released into the air along with another compound, geosmin , a metabolic by-product of certain Actinobacteria , which is emitted by wet soil, producing the distinctive scent; ozone may also be present if there is lightning.[3] In a follow-up paper, Bear and Thomas (1965) showed that the oil retards seed germination and early plant growth.[4] This would indicate that the plants exude the oil in order to safeguard the seeds from germination under duress. In 2015, MIT scientists used high-speed cameras to record how the scent moves into the air.[5] The tests involved approximately 600 experiments on 28 different surfaces, including engineered materials and soil samples.[6] When a raindrop hits a porous surface, small bubbles form that float to the surface and release aerosols.[5] Such aerosols carry the scent as well as bacteria and viruses from the soil.[5] Raindrops that move at a slower rate tend to produce more aerosols; this serves as an explanation for why the petrichor is more common after light rains.[5] Some scientists believe that humans appreciate the rain scent because ancestors may have relied on rainy weather for survival.[7]

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on May 19, 2015 at 4:09 pm dorannrule

Hi Ted! So nice to hear from you and I am sorry you will not be visiting us when you go to Alabama. Let us know if it gets too hot and humid down there and you want to come to Brigadoon. Thanks very much for the “Petrichor” word to define the scent of rain, and leave it to you to research further explanation. An interesting word I think, but it doesn’t quite fit the dreamy images conjured in my wishful imagination. It should be something like “Heavenlyroma.” 🙂

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on May 19, 2015 at 4:10 pm dorannrule

If wishing would make it so….. 🙂

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on May 19, 2015 at 4:11 pm dorannrule

I have had two dogs who agree with me to be frightened during loud flashing storms and both would accompany me to the closet! Your blue flame experience would have sent us all howling there. 🙂

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on May 19, 2015 at 8:58 pm Jill Weatherholt

Like you, I’m not a fan of lightning…which we had last night. 😦 I love the rain too! Especially when I don’t have to commute in it.

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on May 19, 2015 at 10:12 pm Dianna

Beautiful, Dor! And what a great rain effect! By the way, do the deer not eat your hostas? I have one lonely plant, and usually during the season, I forget to Liquid Fence it, and the deer destroy it. I think it’s survived to have blooms a time or two.

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on May 19, 2015 at 11:06 pm photosfromtheloonybin

Wow! I can’t believe how much further ahead your hostas are down there. Hostas are wonderful plants for people with black thumbs because they grow like weeds. I don’t think I could kill them if I tried LOL. I love rain at night while I’m sleeping, Last night we had quite the downpour in the middle of the night with lightning but no thunder that I heard. The sound of the rain lulled me right back to sleep after both Mike and I jumped up to make sure the patio door got closed :). Since I work inside all day though, I prefer the rain to fall at night and not during the day on the weekends when I finally get outside.

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on May 20, 2015 at 12:05 am kinkyhosegardenproject

Rain is great! Free water! Plus, it doesn’t have all that chlorine and other junk in our tap water that kills microbial life in your topsoil every time you water. Rain water is preferred by gardens everywhere! 😉

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on May 20, 2015 at 1:14 am Debbie Spivey

My daddy was a farmer. I have many many great memories of sitting out on the covered back stoop watching it rain. I also love the smell.

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on May 20, 2015 at 1:33 am dorannrule

Yes, rain with no other obligations, is a lovely thing. 🙂

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on May 20, 2015 at 1:36 am dorannrule

Oh boy, do the deer love our Hostas! The only ones they don’t bother are in our tiny little front garden that is guarded by a white picket fence. I think they see us through the windows or they are afraid to be in such a confined area, so they leave everything alone. I have never sprayed Liquid Fence in there either. You never know but least the deer haven’t trespassed in the last 26 years! We do have Hostas all around “outside” the fence and if we don’t remember to Liquid Fence them, they become excellent salad for the deer. 🙂 They love our salads for sure. 🙂

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on May 20, 2015 at 1:41 am dorannrule

Only the deer kill our Hostas (outside the front garden fence) because they think they are salad greens I guess. They respect the fence though and never trespass. It’s been very warm here off and on, so the wild flora, fauna and critters think it’s mid summer, and a little rain and sunshine make for spectacular growth – nice for us black-thumb gardeners.

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on May 20, 2015 at 1:45 am dorannrule

Thanks for visiting my blog and for your lovely comment. I checked your “Kinky Hose Garden Project” too and love the idea and your writing. I kill plastic plants too. So, I am following your blog. 🙂

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on May 20, 2015 at 1:48 am dorannrule

How lucky you are to have had a farming background and such lovely memories of watching the rain with your Dad. When I was a very young girl I had asthma and they thought it was good for me to sleep in fresh air. I slept on a screened porch and loved being lulled into sleep with the sound of the rain. Sometimes it even came in and I could feel it, and just snuggled under some more. Not sure it helped the asthma, but I have the best memories of those nights.

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on May 20, 2015 at 1:49 am kinkyhosegardenproject

Cool! We are becoming quite excited that we are growing! We have had so much rain this month (not always the case in Oklahoma) that I haven’t needed to water all month. 🙂 lovely!

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on May 20, 2015 at 2:00 am Debbie Spivey

Sounds wonderful. That just made me think of the rain falling on my grandmama’s tin roof!! 🙂

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on May 20, 2015 at 3:36 am Mama's Empty Nest

We had a whopper of a thunderstorm last evening. Big bangs of thunder and flashy shows of lightning. I do enjoy rain and I even like thunderstorms. Just as long as they don’t stay around too long…

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on May 20, 2015 at 8:35 am Mary

I love to hear the rain drops too Dorann, forget thunder. Wow the size of your hosta is amazing. So I have a question to ask – we have a hosta that I planted 5 years ago, I don’t do a thing to it – end of season it dies back and then comes back the next year. Had two leaves then, has two leaves now. Is there something special that we aren’t doing to get more than two leaves? The plant is in almost 100% shade, with a bit of morning sun.

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on May 20, 2015 at 9:34 am Eliza Waters

I love a gentle rain, too much all at once scares me. Although, unlike you, I do like a quick, crashing thunderstorm that passes through and leaves a rainbow in its wake. 🙂 We sure could use a good soaking up here, it’s been awfully dry.

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on May 20, 2015 at 10:25 am photosfromtheloonybin

Well, I’m hoping that crazy Mother Nature doesn’t kill anything tonight. It was hot and humid here all weekend, but a cold front has come through and we could get frost tonight, I had to bring in all my hanging baskets just in case, and Mikey will have to cover up his veggie garden tonight :(.

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on May 20, 2015 at 10:37 am dorannrule

You are a braver gal than I! 🙂

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on May 20, 2015 at 10:44 am dorannrule

Like my friend Cindy says, “Hostas grow like weeds.” I can’t imagine why you are only getting two leaf growth. The Hostas do die back at the end of summer and then come back here with a vengeance. Once I even had the local Master Gardeners come and divide them for their plant sale. They are supposed to love shade and my biggest ones are in shady spots that do get bright morning sun that lasts until about noon in summer. We mulch the beds every spring so maybe the soil is improved. But that’s all. I don’t fertilize, and hardly pay attention to them at all. Maybe the problem is not anything you are doing. Maybe it’s just the plant.

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on May 20, 2015 at 10:47 am dorannrule

I admire folks like you Eliza, who absolutely love “crashing thunderstorms.” You will find me (and probably a dog) in the nearest walk-in closet. 🙂

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on May 20, 2015 at 10:50 am dorannrule

A frost???? I have just dug out my bathing suit and Bill opened the pool! No wonder your Hostas are putting off sprouting. On the other hand, most times I prefer the air to be crispy cool so believe it or not, I envy you. I just hope your veggie garden hangs on and all the hanging baskets don’t mind the indoor climate. 🙂 When is the first day of summer in Canada?

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on May 20, 2015 at 10:55 am photosfromtheloonybin

June 21st!! The weather can vary quite dramatically before then. I’m hoping this will be the last cold week. I really enjoyed the hot temperatures over the weekend :).

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on May 20, 2015 at 2:38 pm Mary

Maybe it’s the heat and amount of water it gets. They grew so well in the East – love seeing them in the landscape.

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on May 21, 2015 at 7:45 pm ritaroberts

Like you Dora, I hate thunder and lightning but love to hear the rain and smell how fresh the earth is after the storm has subsided.. Also watching the leaves on the trees spring to life. Its a wonderful experience especially here in Crete after a long period of scorching hot weather.

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on May 22, 2015 at 2:21 am dorannrule

Still, Crete looks so astoundingly beautiful. Hot weather or not, you live in a magnificent place. 🙂

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on May 23, 2015 at 12:02 am ritaroberts

Yes your right Dora and I do appreciate it. We love living here.

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on May 27, 2015 at 10:56 pm beeblu

Oooh, yes, so do I, particularly when I have to work, or if I get a chance to write for some of the day. It creates the right mood. That Hosta is a happy monster. 🙂

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on May 27, 2015 at 11:13 pm dorannrule

Thanks beeblu! No rain today so writing is coming hard. 🙂

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