Rain...

***Warning! May contain nudity and adult language.***

Earlier today it rained pretty hard for a bit... it turned out to be about a half an inch by the time the clouds rolled off. This being Wisconsin though, the break was only temporary.

In the late afternoon another chunk o' rain came calling. It dumped. It was pretty neat to look out and see it coming down like a shower. I went outside on my deck and was drenched in a few short moments. It felt good to get rained on. I peeled off my shirt and may or may not have peeled off other items...

I stopped short of dancing around in the downpour like a Pagan worshiping the gods of rain -- this is a family show after all -- but the world was filled with wonder for awhile. The only downside to all this is that if you stand in the rain getting drenched... well, you'll be drenched when you come back in. I dripped across a couple of 1950s Afghan Baluch wool rugs in search of a towel, but I sensed that they didn't mind too much.

Writing this reminds me of a time out in Bend, Oregon when a really dynamic thunderstorm came blasting across the high desert creating a wild lightening display. Usually the cells would stay out east and remain in place for a good amount of time, but this one blew in towards town and sort of split up around the edges of the city. It was amazing... lightning all around but none overhead.

I jumped into my car and drove to Pilot Butte, a big ol' hill in the center of Bend. I knew it would be the perfect place to go to watch because you could drive up to the top and park. When I got there it seemed like half the town had the same idea. It was wild party on top of this big round butte, everyone just watching in wonder and smelling the ozone being blown in the air. The wind kicked up and the storm closed in with a sudden stop of the lightning and the start of a downpour.

Maybe we're too insulated nowadays, but it seems rare to be moved by a simple display of nature. Lucky me, I had one of those moments today.