Rainy Days

I love a good rain! Not a soft, gentle misting, although I do enjoy those, too, but a strong, steady downpour. I love everything about rain; the sights, the sounds, and even the smell of a drenched earth. There is something very soothing about a rainy day---it has a way of calming me, of bringing me back to a place where everything is right with the world. I guess, in a sense, it cleanses my soul.

When I lived in the South with my family, one of my favorite things to do on a rainy summer evening was to sit on the porch and watch the rain falling down. Sometimes, every now and again, I would be treated to a fantastic electrical storm, complete with loud thunderclaps and streaks of lightning. Such a wondrous, exciting display! At night I would lay in bed listening, entranced, as the rain pattered on our metal roof. It was peaceful and somehow reassuring to fall asleep to the rhythm of the rain.

In Humboldt County, California, where I live with my family now, we experience an average rainfall of more than 100 inches per year, with most of that falling between October and April. Relative humidity is high and as a result of our close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, we enjoy one of the coolest, most stable temperature regimes on the planet. It's a rain lover's paradise!

As I write this afternoon, the wind is blowing and a light rain falls. It's that time of year. We are expecting several consecutive days of rain and occassional thunderstorms. After a while there will be puddles where there were none and if it rains hard enough, and long enough, the creeks in some areas may swell until they overflow their banks. But with the rain will come a renewed sense of purpose, of peace, and once again, all will be right with my world.

April Rain Song
by

Langston Hughes

Let the rain kiss you

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops

Let the rain sing you a lullaby

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk

The rain makes running pools in the gutter

The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night

And I love the rain.

The Great Outdoors

I've been reading a lovely book called Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. The book discusses the fact that many children today are disconnected from nature. Louv goes on to say that that disconnection, that lack of contact with the natural world, has caused untold damage to an entire generation.

In this technological age we live in, where we are bombarded with everything from computers and iPods to satellite tv and video games, it is becoming rare, indeed, that families choose to spend time together in nature. I have known more than one individual who has never been on a family picnic. Never! Picnics are one of the simplest and most pleasurable outside activities----how could someone have missed out on the joy of eating a meal in the "great outdoors"? What a sad comment on our busy, and sometimes shallow, lives.

When my boys were little we spent a large amount of time outside. We lived in eastern Kentucky for nearly 15 years, so we had the privilege of experiencing the four seasons in all their glory. Each season had its own activities that afforded us the opportunity to explore the world around us. We swam in local rivers, floated leaf boats in the creek near our home, enjoyed picnics too numerous to count, built snowmen and makeshift igloos, and walked in the Autumn woods. All three of my sons have known the delight of looking for shapes in the clouds, catching fireflies, building sandcastles, skipping rocks, making snow angels and climbing trees. What wonderful memories I have of those years with my family when my sons were small and the world seemed so big to them, just waiting to be discovered and explored.

Although it is more difficult these days for my family to find time to share together outside, we try to make time. It may just be a short walk on a forest trail not far from our home or, like today, a two-hour strenuous hike through Redwood Park. We may spend an afternoon exploring one of the beaches just a few miles from our front door or a morning of picking blackberries along the river in Blue Lake or simply enjoying a BBQ in our own backyard.

In whatever way you might choose to "get outside", may I humbly suggest....just do it! Take the time to introduce, or re-introduce, your children and yourselves to the beauty of the world in which we live, and share. You will be helping to create precious memories as a gift to your children. I promise that you won't regret it. And one day, when they are grown, you will have the pleasure of hearing the words, "Hey Dad/Mom, remember that time when we............"

NATIONAL PARK WEEK IS APRIL 17-25, 2010. ENTRANCE TO ALL NATIONAL PARKS IS FREE DURING THIS TIME

http://www.nps.gov/npweek/

Visit the sites below to better understand the importance of outdoor play:

http://www.childrenandnature.org/blog/

http://richardlouv.com/

The Gift of Gratitude

It always amazes me what a grateful heart can accomplish~~~

Artwork from: http://homegrownhospitality.typepad.com/

I Pledge To Read the Printed Word

"She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain." --Louisa May Alcott

I love my new widget from I Pledge To Read the Printed Word. As I've said before, I absolutely adore books!

Although I love the fact that technology has made so many advances and is available in so many forms, I truly believe that holding printed material in one's hands helps to create a lasting love affair with the written word. I feel immensely sad for anyone who has never had the bittersweet pleasure of reaching the last page of a beloved book and feeling deep sorrow that the story was finished.

So, take the pledge with me------pick up a book and READ, READ, READ!!

Faithful...Genuine...Sincere

Today I will strive to be:

Artwork from: http://homegrownhospitality.typepad.com/

A Victorian Village

Last Saturday my husband and I spent the morning in the Victorian hamlet of Ferndale. I love that little town! It is quiet and quaint and.......special. It is one of the few local places that seems to be untouched, for the most part, by all the consumerism of the age. Of course there are shops and cafes and a repertory theater and even a little market, but the feeling of the town is so much different from the hustle and bustle of other areas-----it's like stepping into another era. It feels, very simply, like home.

Ferndale boasts some of the most beautiful examples of 19th century Gothic Revival, Italianate, Eastlake and Queen Anne architecture in California and, in fact, the entire village is a California Historical Landmark (No. 883). These homes, many of them still private residences or Bed & Breakfast Inns, are locally known as "Butterfat Palaces", referring to the fact that they were built for the wealthy dairy farmers of the late 1800s.

Ferndale's Main Street

Mark and I rambled about for an hour and a half or so before heading to Ferndale Cemetery to have a look around. Wandering through a cemetery is not really my idea of "fun", but this one, I must say, was interesting as it is situated on an immense hillside, with some gravesites dating to the 1870s.

Ferndale is certainly one of the loveliest little towns I have ever had the pleasure of visiting and I am so glad that it is near enough my home to make it a regular destination. Please visit the following website to learn more about Ferndale and other towns in the Eel River Valley.

http://www.victorianferndale.com/