First Rain

Evening Grosbeak from Audubon's Birds of America

In between the squalls, the evening grosbeaks, blackbirds, and Audubon warblers gather in the trees, facing the wind, feathers ruffling, to comment on their travel plans.

Clouds hurtle by like movie film. The strong white sun breaks through and, in the dazzling light, the tips of the deep green pines twinkle with a thousand prisms of dew. The breeze shakes the branches and angled sheets of pinpoints fall to the ground in waves of soft sound. Two birds launch themselves toward the morning sun while a dozen of their mates veer south.

Open the door and the sublime scent of the pines and firs rushes in like a boisterous child full of news.

As I write this scrap, looking down from my loft window, I see this year’s yellow grasses offer up their harvest of seeds and fruits. Ah, like these grasses, I have fruits to offer but will never be green again…

But, here is this burst of glory, the first rain in more than three months, connecting us all, heaven and earth, the yet-to-be born and the dying, once again.

October 4, 2008
Lake Almanor, CA