The Quality Of Rain

"Rain showers my spirit, and waters my soul" - Emily Logan Decens

Waking up this morning to skies heavy & steely grey, the scent of rain was in the air. Before the first cup of coffee was downed, the rain had begun, steady... increasing and relentless through the mid-afternoon. Earlier in the day there was even the rumble of thunder and an occasional flash lighting up the dark sky.

Winter in the tropics brings rain & strong winds from the southwest. On the upper slopes of the Big Island volcanoes and even on Haleakala here on Maui, there can be infrequent dustings of snow. So far this year, there has been no snow and the rains have been late in arriving. Today's wetting is a welcome relief to island farmers & gardeners. Summer and Fall have been unusually dry, the island looks brown and parched so the steady, all-day rainfall is sure to put some green into things just in time to get things looking at their best for the onslaught of holiday visitors.

Bad news... the usual minor leakage here at the studio which occurs with every wet Kona storm. Nothing is damaged, thankfully, as this is a perennial occurrence and everything is stored well out of water's reach.

The photos above are from the files... the water drops on grass image was published as a cover image in Spirit of Aloha, the magazine formerly published by the now-defunct Aloha Airlines to illustrate a story & photo essay titled "The Quality of Rain". That cover won the 2002 Excellence in Journalism Award from the Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The image below it was taken from a Waikiki hotel balcony during an especially violent lightning storm.