Storms

 My dad, Paul, had a saying.
"Hard rain short, Soft rain long."  It meant that if the rain comes in hard and furious, it won't last long. It is the soft gray days when the drizzle seems to dangle in the air forever.

So yesterday, when the storm came rolling up the lake -- and roll it did! - we knew it wouldn't last long.  You could watch the wall of water come across the bay like a curtain pulling in from the Point.  Wind whipped the trees ahead of the rain, the sky lost all its light. You can tell when weather is upon you.

The usual preparations took place -- scurrying about to switch off things that don't like power surges. TVs and computers, for instance. And to make sure there are some pitchers full of water for when the power goes down. That's expected. We do have generators here at Bondi Village, so we can keep the lights on, the water running, and guests comfortable, but you just know that when you get a good storm these days, Ontario Hydro is going to be out with the linemen.

After the storm, the air is rainwashed fresh and fragrant. Everything underfoot is squishy.  Time for boots, and to go walking.   The ferns are unfolding at the pond.  And down the horse pasture the spring puddle that dries up all too soon is seething with tadpoles.  Who, as it turns out, are not good camera models and won't pose.  You can find them in these pictures, though, if you look a bit.  The water in places was black with the little guys, all on their way to becoming frogs. We welcome the rain for that, because it ensures the pond will not dry up too soon.  They've got a lot of growing to do still!

The sunset was dramatic, looking from the stable towards the Lookout hill.









Today, the horses were thrilled to be out on grass. They had no objection to getting their feet wet, and were quite happy to be grazing beside the puddle-pond.








Beside it. And in it.  Move over tadpoles...