The Graze V.172: The Blessing of Rain

Hi Friends:

Another day of rain in Vermont. The road is speckled with frogs and toads. The moss and fern are living their best lives. The ground is soft and puffy with water.

This season, the rain has caused us some frustration and anxiety. Community events are cancelled. Hikes are wet. Flooding is a constant concern. And yet, perhaps we have something to learn from this wet weather. Robin Wall Kimmerer suggests we close our eyes “and listen to the voices of the rain.”

I hear the rush of the water falling off the rocks on the hillside. I smell the earth opening up - the milkweed flowers bursting open. I breathe in the steamy air, filling my lungs with the taste of summer. I step on the dark humus that squishes underfoot. The smell of rain invigorates me. (Did you know there is actually a name for this smell - petrichor, and a scientific explanation behind its efffect? )

The rain speaks of relationship. The floods scream for our attention to the loss of soil and riparian buffers. The textured forests of the green mountains drink deeply. We feel the effect on our bodies. The toads understand, and the moss is born again.

We are preparing for the Meadows and Mountains Festival at Mission Farm on August 27! This will be an opportunity for our community to come together, to celebrate our communal life and to gather at The Odeon. If you are in town, I hope you will join us.

Let’s listen,

🌱 💚 Lisa