Rainy Saturday

It seem like I have been going like mad lately, and in great need of a break. The weather this weekend was predicted to be rain followed by rain, followed by showers. Fine, says I, I'll plan to spend the weekend in the basement welding odd bits of metal together to make something interesting.

Only this morning I awoke to find that it wasn't raining. Oh man. In fact, it was kinda nice. The sun even peeked through the clouds for a moment. Ok, then, says I; I'll build the new front steps. Start the burn barrel going to get rid of the accumulated scrap lumber and build the steps. Got the barrel started, chatted with the landlord (heckuva nice guy) and got set up to build the steps. Hmmm. had to reconfigure what I wanted to do dimension-wise, but that's ok. Scratch my head for a bit, got it. Make one cut, fine. Make two cuts, fine. Draw the third line - the raindrops start. Shit.

Shit, shit, double-shit. Maybe it'll pass. I try the Catholic approach (head down, deny anything unpleasant is happening) and finally give in and sprint around the yard to get the tools into the back of the truck. I laid two 12-foot pieces of pressure treated decking on top of the truck's cap and laid a tarp over it so I could sit on the tailgate without getting drenched. I sat. And sat. And cursed the rain. And watched my burning scrap sputter and spark in the downpour.

Finally I got up and went into the house to look at the weather map. Oh hell. I stayed inside and did dishes. Then I made lunch. Then, finally, the rain cleared. I went out, stoked up the burn pile into something respectable, made two cuts and the rain began again. I continued to nail in the rain until I felt the back of my shirt clinging to my skin at the belt line, at which point I retreated to the tailgate again, grumbling. Occasionally I would poke at the tarp to drive off the puddles that were accumulating up there. It was fun to watch the water cascade off into the driveway.

I noticed something as I sat out there. I mean aside from the wet and the chill and the soggy smoke smell. Grass is extra green in the rain. I had forgotten that. The robins were out in force, never mind the rain, hopping around pulling up prime bait to feed their babies. All of the trees have leaves now. All of a sudden, too. It seems like last week everything was still budding out, but today everything has leaves. I could hear the rain hitting them. It was very nice. Even the bamboo where the hummingbirds live has leafed out. For an invasive species, it's kinda pretty. And the hummers like it.

I guess I needed the break that the rain provided. I suppose I could still go downstairs and cut and grind and weld, but it's nice up here, going in and out of the house in accordance with the rain showers and the weather radar. Well, that, and I already took off the old steps. So I think I have to keep at this until it's done. I will just have to learn to adjust my pace to nature's moods. And I think that could be exactly what I have needed to do.