that was indeed the rain

“Rain” by Edvard Munch

Like Rain it sounded till it curved
And then we knew ’twas Wind —
It walked as wet as any Wave
But swept as dry as Sand —
When it had pushed itself away
To some remotest Plain
A coming as of Hosts was heard
That was indeed the Rain —
It filled the Wells, it pleased the Pools
It warbled in the Road —
It pulled the spigot from the Hills
And let the Floods abroad —
It loosened acres, lifted seas
The sites of Centres stirred
Then like Elijah rode away
Opon a Wheel of Cloud —

~ Emily Dickinson
(The Poems of Emily Dickinson, #1245)

We got 1.75″ of rain on Tuesday! Our drought status has moved from severe down to moderate.

28 thoughts on “that was indeed the rain”

    1. We do need much more! I hear that because of the drought the foliage in southern New England will be brief, bright, and late this year. Sigh…

    1. I wonder about that sometimes, when Munch did show faces a lot of them were blurry or weirdly distorted. But I do like this scene, imagining the women enjoying the beauty of the rain.

    1. Ally, it’s nice to know someone else who appreciates Munch. There is so much more to his work than The Scream. He painted the good times, too.

  1. I like the poem by Emily Dickinson that you paired with β€œRain” by Edvard Munch. Thank goodness for the 1.75 inches of rain to alter your drought status, because without that rain, you’d be using “The Scream” instead.

    1. Thank you, Linda. It was a relief to check the pond and see more water in it, although it’s nowhere near full just yet. Luckily we keep getting little bits of rain now every other day or so. It’s better when it comes that way.

      1. Yes, too much rain overwhelms drainage systems and this is better. We had rain three times in the last 24 hours – we were also expecting severe weather mid-day, but just got the third batch of rain and not the 60 mph winds and hail as predicted – whew. I am glad to see cooler weather (25 degrees colder tomorrow than today) and less threats of severe weather.

          1. That was us yesterday – tomorrow you’ll need a jacket as you get our weather the next day. I was chilly when I went out and right now it is 73 in here and I need to get some warmer clothes for outside and inside tomorrow.

          2. Yup, I definitely needed a jacket! — Yay!!! And I had to turn on the heat in the bathroom this morning so I could take a shower. πŸ™‚

          3. I turned the heat on yesterday as I sit here for hours not moving, but today once for the heat, then done. We had rain off and on, not a nice Saturday and I had my bivalent Covid shot and flu shot today. I drove 20 miles roundtrip as my CVS was booked for three weeks. So that is done – my arm is sore, but so far no other side effects. I only get side effects from the second shot or booster. But I had it later today – I usually take the first appointment, had an 11:00 a.m. At least I could walk at the Park first, but it started to rain while I was there.

          4. Happy to hear you got your bivalent booster! πŸ™‚ We had to drive to a different pharmacy, too. I had to get a Moderna booster because we couldn’t find a Pfizer one anywhere. It was worse for me but Tim had no side effects at all.

          5. I’ve done Moderna for the prior four but I got it at my grocery store and they had no idea when it was coming in. I didn’t want to mix and match, so went here. Two weeks and covered for both shots (thank goodness). I remember you said it was worse for you and not Tim. Maybe as you had a different brand this time?

          6. I’m wondering. Tim has only had Moderna, my first four were Pfizer and this last one was Moderna. It was enough of a difference in reaction to make me search harder for a Pfizer shot next time…

          7. That just may be your answer Barbara and I have something interesting to tell you. (First, I never made it to other comments last night, just the comments to my own blog – hopelessly behind in comments now.) Anyway, a woman walker at the Park was arriving Saturday when I was leaving to drive to get my two shots. She said “I was going for a flu shot but wouldn’t get the two together.” I said the CDC is endorsing the idea – like a one-stop shopping. This woman (Joyce) has bronchial issues and must wear a scarf over her mouth in the Winter due to the cold air – she does not wear a mask but she has bronchial issues every Winter. I said to her, well book your shot soon as I had to drive 20 miles round trip or wait until mid-October. She has had only Moderna like me. So she was at the Park this morning and said she got the flu shot and asked if she could have the bivalent shot – they told her you have to book and they are booked three weeks. So Joyce said she had respiratory issues – they relented and gave it to her … this was midday Saturday. She told me today she had never been so tired in her life and slept for all of Sunday and felt like she was in a fog. I told her I had the same reaction. The chills and teeth chattering and I went to bed and that was over by morning but the never-ending fatigue and brain fog lasted over a day. So glad it wasn’t just me … I told her it means the shot done its job (or so they say).

          8. It’s a good thing those side effects didn’t last too long for you and the woman walker you met. I’m going to get my flu shot mid-October because that’s what I’ve done in the past and that is supposed to give maximum protection for the height of the flu season in January. The fatigue from the covid vaccines is bothersome but the malaise, headache and sore arm I got was the worst of it. The sore arm lingered the longest. Hopefully we all had a good immune response!

          9. I went too early for my flu shot last year, then worried about it – this year I waited longer as the flu is supposed to be bad. I got a senior flu shot – it has multiple components and is a little stronger. I think our response means we are covered!

          10. Now that I’m 65 I wonder if they will be giving me a senior flu shot this year. I want to be well covered when the grandchildren arrive with all their germs for the holidays. πŸ˜‰

          11. I turned 66 in April and when I booked with CVS online, it automatically put senior shot when I picked flu shot. I would have had that last year and I’m in their database. But if you already booked, be sure and get that – more variety. Here is the difference:

            “High-dose vaccines include four times as much flu virus antigen β€” the part of the vaccine that stimulates the immune system β€” as standard flu vaccines. This can give older people a higher immune system response against the flu.”

          12. I’ll have to ask Tim about picking the senior shot — he does all our online booking. I wonder if the senior shot will make me feel worse than the regular shot, since it gives a higher immune response.

          13. That’s a good question Barbara – you should ask your doctor or the pharmacist before Tim books your flu. If the flu is indeed as bad as they claim it will be this season, it may be worth it – the lesser of two evils would be feeling crummy as opposed to the flu. I keep hearing about this “bad flu” this Winter.

    1. Thank you, Suz. It’s always nice to know that there are fellow Dickinson and Munch fans in my blogging circle. πŸ™‚

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