What Does Rain Means To Us? A Photo Blog by Resident David Rice
What Rain Means to Us
Often we see clouds like this we think right away that rain will be forthcoming. It was a week after this picture was taken that we actually got any rain here at the Meadows. It has always interested me to note what the coming of rain means to different people. For some, perhaps most people, it means moisture to help lawns, trees, and flowers grow. A thunderstorm may portend the possibility of power failures and falling tree limbs to others. My great love of waterfalls always has me thinking of what the falls around me may be like after a period of rain.
You Have to be Ready
This waterfall, Norton’s Falls, is right here in Rochester, off of Seth Green Drive, only a couple of blocks from the old Kodak Haweye building. It only runs after a heavy rain! Quite a few times, I have hurried over there after some rain, only to find a trickle. There has to be a LOT of rain! You walk down an ancient Indian trail, round a corner in the trail, and wait to hear the exhilarating sound of fast moving water. The reward is great when conditions are right!
Comparisons
As I think many of you would agree, comparing yourself to others, more often than not, is rarely a very helpful way to live your life. However, sometimes comparisons can be helpful. The recent short-but-sweet rainfall fell on my little Clematis plant and pretty much finished it off for this year. It was not like other amazing Clematis plants I’ve seen falling over themselves and throwing out dozens and dozens of flowers for a long period of time. This plant of mine had maybe 15 flowers total with blooms only lasting for a couple of weeks and no new buds.
But when I think back on last year’s edition, what I have seen here this year looks like a huge success. Last year’s version only grew about a foot up the small trellis…. and….never had any flowers at all. By comparison, this edition was a huge success. I’m glad it held out long enough to collect some of the rain that finally fell.
Checking Every Angle
I think most of you are familiar with this waterfall. It’s High Falls in downtown Rochester. I took a close shot in an attempt to have the waterfall look like it could be out in the middle of nowhere rather than right here in an urban context.
I think one of the things I like best about waterfalls is that they are ever changing, always showing a new view, always surprising me. And I try not to just take the first view that seems right, but to look around from one side to the other, exploring the differences. I think that view, looking everything over from a number of angles, can be a good way to deal with all of life’s situations we may encounter, in our lives at St. John’s.
Ill leave you with a poem I wrote about one of my favorite water falls.
At its brink the waterfall collects
The rocky surging tension then
Casts down sparkling diamonds
Into a cushion of splash.
Anxious, I too seek the edge,
My soul free-falling
into a pool of peace.
Bucktail Falls
St. John’s Meadows resident, David Rice is an avid photographer. David’s love of waterfalls and his eye for photography come together in his July photo blog.