With Rain Comes Gratitude...

And then the rain came... 

A storm came in last night bringing the first rain we have had in months. I heard it all thru the night, a sound that seems so unfamiliar now but oh so welcome! I usually get up before Mitch, the dogs and I wander out for morning potties and down to the barns to let the animals out for the day. Then its back to the house to prepare breakfast and lunches for the day, do laundry, and carry on with daily chores and work. But today I came back into the house, made coffee, grabbed my knitting and sat. I sat in the big leather chair with the lambskin thrown over it by our big front window. The very chair that has been beckoning me all summer to come sit for a bit. It was gloriously quiet and so luxurious.

Before moving to the agricultural world rain didn't play the same role in my life as it plays now. There was a time before when it seemed more like drudgery. That was before it had such an effect our livelihood. Before I understood it is what feeds our crops and animals and in turn us. Before I truly understood that our climate is changing. I'll admit there was a time when I took our beloved PNW rain for granted. 

Now as I sit I appreciate what the first rain does, it brings with it an exhale. I could see it this morning in the grass seed fields and in the pastures which went from loose dirt to damp dark soil. I could see it in the animals as they ran to me for morning kibble, not having to breath in the dry and particulates they normally have been kicking up along the way. I could see it in a farmer I know who slept a wink longer than normal having heard the rain come in overnight. And for us makers, for me as a maker, the rain brings a chance to sit. A chance to breathe deep,  a chance to wrap myself in wool, a chance to be inspired by nature's reinvigoration and a chance to let that inspiration flow as I think about what my hands will make and write this coming winter. Gratitude times a million for these moments!

Wherever you are I would love to hear what the first rain of the season means to you? Do you have a favorite spot to watch the rain from? Have you been able to sit and have that moment of inspiration yet?