Thursday, August 7, 2008

After A Rain


I would say that the month of July is a month of extremes --- when it’s sunny, the hot dry air seems to lull you into a drowsy state with the world standing still; and when it rains, it really pours, with episodes of, thunder, lightning and gusty wind to boot. And August shows signs of being not different from the previous month. So far, the month started with a blast… literally and negatively. A tornado hit a town (Hautmont) in the northern part of France 4 days ago (August 3) which is quite a rare occurrence. Hailstorms in May are becoming a “normal” phenomenon here. But a tornado? I believe the last one struck the country around 40 years ago and there are around 5 documented tornado outbreaks (including the most recent one) in the last millennium. Many families lost their homes and I hope they will be able to have a roof over their heads before winter comes. And even if it is summer now, housing for the disaster victims can still be a problem because of the rains we periodically experience, especially since the northern part is known for being the “wet” region of France.

I am more a "sunny day" person than a rain-loving one. But with the exception of calamitous weather conditions which, of course, bring about catastrophes, I think there’s something fetching in the air after an afternoon drizzle and the sun starts to reclaim its rightful place in the sky. It seems that the rain had washed away everything clean, turning things back in their pristine state. Grass appears to be greener, the air fresher, trees and flowers sparkle as water droplets glint in the sunlight. And everything looks to have attained a certain amount of clarity and richness that were dulled by the heavy, humid, stifling atmosphere before a thunderstorm. It’s like being reborn --- wonderfully seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling things as if for the first time…

5 comments:

Katarina said...

I agree with you that a garden after a rain, is a lovely place to be. But it's too bad that we're experiencing such extremes. I feel so sorry for the victims of the tornado.
/Katarina

Anonymous said...

That's a very nice picture
Very well composed
Congratulations !!!

Daddy :)

Selerines said...

Wonderful wonderful... No words to express it..... Nice picture.... Hats of you my friend....

Davidlind said...

That is terrible about the tornado and all those folks losing their homes. I hope someone is taking care of them.
I have never seen a tornado in person and hope to never see one. That is just too much excitement. The only good thing I can think of happening would be a chance to drive really fast without getting a speeding ticket.

lareine said...

to katarina: i really hope our weather will turn back to normal,or at least won't get any more worse... i feel the same way, too, about the victims... we're lucky it didn't hit our town...

to snoopy: i wouldn't have been able to take such photos if not for you... thank you for always being there :)...

to selerines: thank you very much... i hope you're doing great there... and the same way for your friend who's in the hospital (i hope she's recovering fast)...

to mckhoii: i'll do the tag as soon as i can... thanks :)...

to davidlind: the local government and some NGO's were fast in helping them... i cannot say the same thing for the government, though because it took them a week to send some relief goods...

i haven't seen a tornado, too... and if i ever see one, i hope i won't be in the middle of it *winks*... and i guess no police officer would dare give a speeding ticket if you're driving fast away from the tornado *giggles*... especially here where we have many automatic speed detectors :)...

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