Starting to feel inundated by the rain?  In listening to many conversations in mountain Maryland over the last couple of days, you would presume that there is a new malady in the area that might be diagnosed as rain-fatigue of the brain.

But everything is relative, Dear Readers, so click on the read more button and check out the up- side of all this weather that is starting to make your skin resemble a dried-up prune and your mind feel water-logged.

 

Even though we have been having a lot of steady rainfall for days, with what seems like hardly any let-up, it actually pales next to many areas of the world that know what real rain is.  Close your eyes and mentally transport yourself to India, where the monsoon season rages for weeks and weeks on end.  Or head on out to Forks, Washington, and the Ho River rainforest, where the annual precipitation is over 200 inches.  After you get back, you will agree that what's going on here and now is really just minor-league weather.

 

The truth is that having lots of rain can be beneficial to man and nature alike.  Consider that breed of people who hear about rivers running at flood stage and become excited, for this is just the time that kayakers and other boaters have the chance to paddle a variety of waterways.

 

Lindy Shank braving the falls.

Water's up, it's time to gather your boat and gear, hop in the car, drive to the put-in, and enjoy the pleasures of being in your outdoor cathedral.

 

The realization of what this water does for our wonderful mountain environment is sufficient to help one kick back and relax, understanding that there is a beauty unleashed that is like candy for the eye and soul.  Join me in a visual tour of what is blooming on the land around us as a result of all this H2O, and if you let it envelop you, perhaps you will experience some sense of contentment and joy at the bursting of beauty, all brought to you as a result of wet, watery precipitation.

 

 

It remains a fact:  April showers do bring May flowers.

 

 

A little break from steady torrents is a respite, and the view can astound you.

 

Spring and the renewal of the earth also benefit our bruin population.

 

At the house or in the wild, we are flush with the beauty around us.

 

Without rain, our fields would not be so lush and verdant.

 

Spring brings with it the mating of gobblers and the lure of the hunt for many of our denizens.

 

Friend and neighbor, Jess Molle is definitely in touch with his surroundings.  He is emotionally bound to the land and a loving caretaker of his Garrett County nirvana.  Anyone care for some mint?

 

No rain and the pond will be dry.  Thank you, rain.  And thanks for the apple blossoms once again.

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The showers also graciously bring us May-apple.

 

I've heard that Spring and rain are responsible for the appearance of this fairy changling, and ditto for the migratory birds in our fantasyland neighborhood.

 

Lots of rain and thirty years, and presto, we will have a towering pine.

 

Spring is also for cleaning and sprucing up, and New Germany State Park, a gem in the neighborhood, has a new look at its entrance, a warm beckoning to enter its portals and experience the abounding nature found within.

 

So maybe all this rain is simply a mind-set, and the approach is to go with the flow and break out a happy tune whenever your demeanor is feeling gray: take the advice of Gene Kelly and try singing in the rain.

I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love.

Go one multimedia step further and actually watch on You-tube as Mr. Kelly struts his stuff:  The scene may take place in the city, but the message is universal, and the singing and dancing reign supreme.