March 7, 2016

Spring Showers

FARM NEWS

The morning started off sunny and warm. The bare fields lay light brown waiting for their crops for the year and the irrigation that would follow. Beyond them, the hills were green with spring grass and freshly sprouted oak leaves. The sky was filled with white, puffy clouds that occasionally floated below the sun, casting a huge shadow on the farm and gave me cause to put on a light jacket.

By noon, the white spring clouds turned into dark gray masses that loomed over the farm, threatening the shower of rain that the news had been predicting. When the sky was filled with these massive clouds, moisture started falling from the sky. A thick and constant flow of raindrops pounced on the farm.

The bare fields were painted dark brown by the first raindrops. The chitter-chatter of the song birds that whistled while they worked went quiet while they found refuge from the spring storm. The pitter patter of raindrops on the roof and the flow of water off the roof brought back the feel of winter. The spring shower was complemented by some lightning flashes – reminding us of the raw and awesome power of the weather. This continued for several hours, delivering to the entire farm a quarter inch
of rain. By evening, the sky was still filled with clouds, but the rain was gone.

The following morning was sunny without a cloud in the sky. The bare fields steamed with moisture that was being evaporated by the early morning sun. The songbirds were back at work tweeting away with specific enthusiasm for the beautiful morning. The crops looked happy, and the irrigators couldn’t help but to enjoy the early morning, knowing that the storm had done most of their work for the week. This rain and warmer weather will ensure that the hills will stay green with growing grass, which will provide more feed for the local ranchers.