Cheer amidst the Deluge

Last post I wrote in a red sun haze, the Hudson Valley air thick with smoke from Canadian wildfires. Now I’m writing in a deluge. Rain pounds on the roof. The rill, usually the barest of trickles at this time of year, is a torrent. 4.5 inches of rain have fallen in the last 24 hours.

It is a time of inundation. And not just here. We are in the midst of a collective inundation. Too much fire, too much smoke, too much smoke and mirrors, too much rain, too much ICE, too much heat, toooooo much.

And yet, this particular inundation, this Hudson Valley flood, at this particular point in time, for this particular person, who is lucky enough to have a screen porch, and can sit here, watching rain plummet on the pond is, well, gorgeous. There is a hint of light in the sky. There is the graceful sway of the oak and willow. There is the dip-dip-dip of goldfinch bobbing through the gray.

There is also the supreme good fortune that it is raining now, and not on Saturday, when a busload of families from Extreme Kids and Crew came for a visit. The goats were never more loved. For three hours, the kids fed them mugwort, their glee renewing and cheering us all. We also made pizza, picked raspberries, cooled off in the shade of Jory’s woven jellyfish structure. It was a lovely day. I hope you enjoy these pictures, and I hope you find your moments of beauty in the midst of inundation.