rainbow

Signs of spring

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Spring has arrived in the north, and we are marveling in it’s colors and textures. It is all a great awakening from the cold and quiet of winter. Spring rains have brought green to our grasses, and caused the flowers to open and burst into bloom. The daffodils, magnolias, and crocus are all basking in the warm sunshine. The rains have brought gentle showers and also thunderstorms that roll through quickly and seem to clear in an instant. If we’re fast enough and the conditions are right, they also grace us with wondrous rainbows of color – sometimes even complete double rainbows!

Interrupted by Mother Nature

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I’d had a busy day, with things to do, people to see, places to go. My mind was focused on all those things and the things I was reluctantly still not getting done. As I drove north I went through spotty rain showers – the hit and miss kind. Our drought has continued so I couldn’t bring myself to complain about the rain, although it certainly wasn’t part of my plans for my list of things needing to be finished.

When I arrived at the lake, it was still dripping rain. As I hurried with the things I wanted to get done I noticed the sun was peeking out and lighting up the opposite shore where the trees are loosing their summer green and are now in their various shades of fall green. The rain continued, and I was in my own world of thought when I turned to the northeast and saw a partial rainbow visible between the trees. By the time I walked to the dock I could see the entire arc of the rainbow filling the sky, and then a second arc appeared. Even though the rain continued and I was getting wetter by the minute, the double rainbow caught my attention and grounded me in that moment – of fleeting light and beauty and the appreciation of Mother Nature’s interruption.

Looking for the brighter side

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The storm brought wind, rain, and hail and it seemed to stop as quickly as it started.  This had been the third or fourth storm to roll through in as many days.  But as the dark clouds moved further east and the skies began to clear, there was a brilliant rainbow that arced across the sky and was reflected in the still lake surface below.  This was our “reward” for getting through the storms, and with all the uncertainties that are in our day-to-day lives this was truly the brighter side.

The end of a spring day

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Spring arrived quickly in the past week.  There were hints of green showing up in the trees and the grass.  The ice moved off the lake and the open water was an invitation for geese, ducks, loons, eagles, and the people wanting to fish.  It was a flurry of activity all generated by the unofficial end of winter.  By early evening it was quiet and peaceful again.  A light rain shower had moved through the area, the sun was beginning to set, and the lake had calmed.  And as if to punctuate the end of a delightful spring day, a rainbow appeared in the sky and was reflected in the still of the water below.

A brief moment

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We were wandering the back roads of central Minnesota recently in the early evening.  The day had given us rain, cooler temperatures, some sun and wind.  As the sun was getting lower in the sky, the clouds reflected the colors, and the moisture in the air gave us a beautiful rainbow.  The lake still stirred with the wind, creating ripples that rolled across the waters, but the evening provided a magical display of light and reflection for a brief moment.