Raindrops

Simple Delight Found in Raindrops

Well, finally we've got some decent rain here in Canberra, although it chose a slightly inconvenient time to decide to fall - this weekend was supposed to be a time of bonfires and fireworks (here in Canberra at least, fireworks are illegal everywhere else as far as I know)... It's the Queen's birthday tomorrow (Monday) so we have a public holiday.

Still, the rain is terrific... it's that deep drenching rain that seems to fall endlessly and heavily to the ground, streams of it working to wash away all the filth, dust and grime which tends to coat all (and sundry) during a drought. Everything outside is having a shower, and when the rain stops, the first thing I am likely to smell when I walk out there is the scent of freshly washed eucalyptus leaves. I can almost feel the vapourised blue tinged oils from those leaves creeping up my nostrils.

I just drove home from a friend's vineyard out of town where tonight we feasted on incredible foods and talked about all sorts of wonderful (and sometimes weird) things in between bouts of firework displays in the rain. Children dashed about all evening, emitting excited squeals as the explosive sprays of colour filled the wet night sky.

When I pulled out of the driveway and headed off up the road, the first thing I encountered out of the drenching darkness was a pair of large almost-white kangaroos who were sitting seemingly nonchalantly by the side of the narrow road. Fortunately for me I was still only travelling at about 10kmph, not having accelerated much yet from the slippery mud driveway of the farm, so when they decided at the last second to hop out in front of my car, seduced by the glare of the bright headlights (as is their wont), it was easy for me to stop and avoid hitting them. Realistically speaking, that was extremely fortunate, because hitting one kangaroo in a car is potentially quite lethal for both parties concerned (are there degrees/levels of lethal?), so hitting two might have been quite devastating.

Driving home from the vineyard takes about 40 minutes, and as I carefully headed along the narrow country roads before I was to reach the highway, I marvelled at the way the rain streamed so constantly at my windscreen, like a thousand little feet slipping, uncaring, down the glass, only to be hurriedly swept aside by the efficiently sharp rubber wiper blades. Bright light reflected and refracted off in a million different directions, disappearing into the black vacuum of night as my eyes worked hard to see past the waterfall which my windscreen had become. Everything seemed so, well, beautiful when viewed through that technicolour kaleidoscope created by all those big raindrops.

I pushed my way through that driving rain, sure of my destiny, sure of my own ability to get myself, my somewhat nervous dog (he really didn't like all those fireworks) and my unborn child to our destination. At times I felt the water on the road grabbing at my tires, resisting, like several strong yet small hands reaching from the pooled depths to pull me to a halt. I battled bravely against these forces and continued stubbornly forward.

I made it home, pulled into my driveway and walked inside, to be greeted by that joyous warmth which is only truly appreciated when compared to the cold wetness outdoors.

I smiled and decided to share a little of it with you all. Now it is time to sleep, and to dream.

Good night! :)

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