Colors of the Rain

a rainy winter day on the shrub-steppe reveals it's lovely colors

Daily Note

Every day, a photograph, a poem.

Today as I first began the walk with Guthrie, I paused at what the steady drizzle of rain had brought: the colors of the shrub-steppe shone through the moistness. It is beautiful and calming.

Here in the shrub-steppe, the various shrubs, which are our forests, provide many hues, like the pale blue grey of the evergreen sagebrush and the deep and dark trunks of soon to be green of bitterbrush, both of which are habitats for the sagebrush sparrow. I believe these are the “big sagebrush,” not always found in Washington. This year the moss has spread far and wide in a luscious light and bright green. But my favorite are the red branches of the saskatoon [service] berry which will bloom in creamy green leaves and white flowers in the coming spring.

And the dog seemed to pick up the freshness and some budding in the bushes because, like a little kid, he ran and ran in the newness the rainy day brings. Several times he stopped to shake of all the moisture he’d gathered running through the sage– right through the sage! Of course, he’s still a puppy, and as a rescued dog with unknown background, he does not yet know how to retrieve, though he is part retriever. But he does love his toy… for a while.

So, with that excitement, I think Guthrie picked up on my enjoyment of the falling rain and its gift of color to the shrub-steppe. And so, a poem…

Poetry

Colors of Rain

Today a steady drizzle
rains upon the land
dripping from the sagebrush
puddling in the sand
A constant soak of moisture
covers the terrain
and across the shrub-steppe foliage
shine the colors of the rain:
red stems of the saskatoon berry
bright green of each feathery moss
beneath blue grey of evergreen sagebrush
and the dark trunks of the bitterbrush
some miss the trees of the forest
and its protective canopy
but I love the smell of winter’s sage
as a walk in this pleasantry,
a gift of nature’s rainfall
the colors of tranquility.
Sheri Edwards
02.05.24 036.365.24
Poetry/Photography