NATURE

Wet Weather Wonders

But there are wet weather woes, too!

Who could possibly revel in wet weather?

The ground is soggy if not puddly, the bricked yard slushy if not slippy, the sky soupy if not soppy.

Twinned with blowy wind, it is more than nippy.

My usual early morning call in my back garden to top up the bird feeders is deferred. Not even in my wooly dressing gown would I dare.

But I see my regulars: the wood pigeons huddled in the roofed bird/squirrel feeder; a blackbird and a pair of magpies perched separately on bare branches on next door’s trees.

I hear the songbirds, too, tweeting not unlike the chief twit in its regularity.

They’re up in the trees. Trees that are either skeletal or with burnt sienna leaves, which cling on teetering twigs defiantly.

And the queen of autumn, ah, the chrysanthemums.

The mums in my garden — all five flowering bushes in reds, white and caramel — are the lusty ladies which I could not stop admiring.

Not today, though, and in the past several yesterdays. I feel as if they are grovelling, begging nature to quit its onslaught resulting in wet weather woes.

My husband, who is never vocal when he gazes at the beauties in our garden, is quick to speak as he looks out the window this morning, lamenting, “What a miserable weather!”

After reading my juvenile rants above, you can dismiss them all. 😁

Wet weather offers a bundle of good to us all in the planet

Rain is a blessing to plants and trees. It is, as a gardener said, a match made in heaven (unless, of course, the rainfall is excessive).

Rainwater is the healthiest choice over well water (which contains iron and other heavy minerals that can build up and damage soil and plants) or tap water (which contains chlorine that could cause plant-tissue toxicity) in watering plants.

When it rains, carbon dioxide combines with other minerals in the atmosphere imparting rainwater with an acidic pH. As this acidic pH reaches the soil, micronutrients locked up in the soil, including copper, iron, manganese and zinc that are important for plant growth, are then released. -Data source: For plants, rain has benefits that tap water simply can’t deliver

And if you wonder (I did, too) why plants are greener after it rains, this is because some of the elements of air in its nitrate and ammonium forms, are brought down by the rain and are then absorbed by the roots and leaves.

For us humans, our life depends on rain which provides water for industries, agriculture, hygiene and electrical energy. What would modern life be without wet weather?

In some cultures where rivers, lakes and aquifers are not easily accessible, their source of freshwater is guess what? Rain.

The wonders of walking (or even running) in the rain

If plants perk up with wet weather as they soak in this beneficial liquid, humans also reap benefits from walking in the rain.

It invites one to have a positive attitude or a different perspective.

Walking in the rain is also a better time for breathing in fresh air.

Droplets of rain falling through the atmosphere act like a magnet as they attract air pollution particles. Think pollution from the traffic.

Or, if you are tough and would rather jog or run (dear me, not for me 😳) in the rain — provided there are no thunders or lightnings or a thick wall of rainfall — this activity is deemed safe and beneficial.

Just make sure to take the necessary measures when running in the rain.

The wet weather has not abated until past mid-morning. In the background, the pigeons are cooing and the songbirds tweeting, perhaps singing, rain, rain go away?

With my garden plants soaking in the benefits of rainwater in their roots and leaves, how heartless of me if I ignore the twittering gang.

As for my drooping mums and other flowering bushes, well, it’s almost winter. They need to be pruned and put to bed with enough mulch cover on the ground to keep them warm from snow and frost.

Wearing my jacket, I put on my garden shoes. Can’t have the feathery friends starve; the shed is stocked for the winter with bird food.

As I brace myself to step into the wet, almost-wintry weather outside to the garden, I heard my husband read aloud (for my benefit) an advisory from the local water authority:

Despite the rains in the past month, the water reservoirs are only half full at this time. Therefore, the ban on the use of water hose pipe is still in effect.

I never thought I’ll step out in this wet weather, urging the soupy, soppy clouds to keep bringing it on. 😊

Recommended readings:

If you need a laugh over twittering birds and the chief twit, Srini shares his usual brand of humour in this piece:

Meanwhile, Bebe Nicholson’s article on why liberals and progressives (those who’ve strayed from what true liberalism is) are heaping tonnes of criticism against Elon Musk and Twitter is a must-read.

Many thanks to Reciprocal’s Sahil Patel, Dr. Preeti Singh and Yana Bostongirl for you warm support to us, contributors, of this publication.

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