Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The Seasons: Autumn Rains
November was unusually dry, and in the first-half of December there were only a few showers. Now, three days before winter solstice, the rains have arrived. It is a wet morning in the San Francisco Bay area, and a lot more rain expected in the next few days. Temp. in the low 50's F (13 deg. C). According to the extended forecast, Christmas Day could be dry....cloudy but dry. A wet Christmas would prevent us from the traditional hike in the afternoon that JHL and I enjoy.
We can forget the dire warnings about droughts in the summer months. Skiers are happy. Abundant snow packs in the sierras mean they can enjoy their holiday trips. Hardy lots, the skiers are not daunted by road and weather conditions.
Good news also for us foragers who walk through the woods looking for wild mushrooms. Perhaps it is not too late for the chanterelles to emerge.
The rains we get here, however, are a far cry from rains in some other parts of the world.
Rainy afternoon, Sunnyvale, California
© Musafir, Canon Powershot S3
Photo credit: www.liberaassociazioneilpopolo.it/
Picture of a very wet day in Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Rainy Day © Ian Britton
Not even a hat--
And cold rain falling on me?
Tut-tut! Think of that!
--Basho (translated by Harold Henderson)
Come, come thou bleak December wind,
And blow the dry leaves from the tree!
-- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834, Fragment 3
*****
Rainy Day © Ian Britton
Not even a hat--
And cold rain falling on me?
Tut-tut! Think of that!
--Basho (translated by Harold Henderson)
Come, come thou bleak December wind,
And blow the dry leaves from the tree!
-- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834, Fragment 3
