Rainshine

Ottawa’s average annual rainfall (869 mm) is more than twice that of Edmonton (365 mm), and 2.5 times that of Calgary (326 mm). Maybe that’s why I’m still astounded by the heavy rainfalls I see here: early experience sets unconscious expectations, perhaps.

We had another downpour this last week, and then the sun came out. That’s another difference, at least between Ottawa and my memory of Edmonton: I remember the latter getting day-long rain, but Ottawa seems prone to storm cells, with one after another sweeping through.

Anyway, the sun came out after the rain and shone through the raindrops on the flame bush in the backyard. Its uppermost leaves have already started to turn colour.

Sun shining through raindrops on flame bush

Sun shining through raindrops on flame bush

This entry was posted in Appreciating Deeply, Photos of Flora and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

12 Responses to Rainshine

  1. Barbara Carlson says:

    Gorgeous colour!
    I’ve noticed if the rain starts suddenly and ferociously, it will end quickly. It’s the slowly forming, drippy, misty, uncertain rain that lasts for days.

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Barbara – Yes, the heavy downpours don’t last. I expect there’s some life metaphor in there. 🙂

      • Barbara Carlson says:

        Yes. Babies get sick all the time, but get over it fast. Unlike old folk who are only sick twice a year, but it lasts for 6 months each time.

        • Isabel Gibson says:

          Barbara – Now there’s a happy thought for someone who’s a bit under the weather at the moment! Only another 5 months and 28 days to go.

  2. Kate says:

    That’s so beautiful Isabel! It looks so fresh 🙂

  3. Judith Umbach says:

    Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos of a sight that could easily have been unnoticed.

  4. Jim Taylor says:

    Can you blow up that drop hanging on the end of the leaf enough to see what’s shining through it? Sometimes they act as a microscope, sometimes as a telescope.
    Jim T

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Jim – I don’t *think* it would blow up any more than it already is. 🙂 Or maybe I’d see me peering back . . .

  5. John Whitman says:

    Isabel – perhaps the difference between Ottawa and Edmonton weather is that Ottawa is much closer to the Gulf of Mexico.

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      John – Do they get sparkling red leaves near the Gulf of Mexico, too? Seriously, I suspect you’re right. Alberta doesn’t get too much of its weather from the south (this latest winter snowstorm notwithstanding), but we seem to.

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