Valley of the Sun 2014: Raino, raino fall upon the earth again.....

As I sit here at the computer listening to the rain pound down on our tin roof my mind drifts to songs about rain or with the word rain in the lyrics. One of Canada greatest rock bands, Chilliwack, released the song "Rain-o" on their 1970 self titled album "Chilliwack". I've always enjoyed this bluesy-rock song. On the album the song was over 6 minutes in length. Perfect for that last song of the evening after too much beer, wine, rum and.....other things.

Here are the lyrics to the first verse of the song. If you are lucky enough to have an original copy of this album as I do, drag it out late some evening, toss it on the old Akai or Dual vintage turntable and crank it up. It is most effective on a stormy evening but can also be enjoyed in any weather at any time of day, or night, with or without the beer, wine, rum....or other things.

Raino, raino

fall upon the earth again

and make it good.

make it cool and fill the river,

fill the pool, quench the thirst

of every fool and every sage

and every sour soul

who's lost so much

he doesn't know his need.

Read more: http://artists.letssingit.com/chilliwack-lyrics-raino-c9qxnqd#ixzz2um0H74LE

LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community

So why am I seemingly off on a tangent about bluesy-rock songs about Rain? Because, Dear Watson, after 73 days it has rained in the Valley of the Sun. I mean soaker type rain. The streets are flowing with the stuff. Are we unhappy? Are we grumpy? Hell no! This rain is a blessing. It started about 3:00 a.m last night and has continued off and on all day. This afternoon around 4:00 p.m. it really let loose. Believe it or not I actually moved the 4Runner out of the carport into the street to wash off the dust that has accumulated since I last washed it. One downpour and it was done.

Rain here seems to us to be dramatic. The reason I feel that way could be that it is so dry most of the time and any water is surprising. it could also be that cloud bursts are the norm. Rain here is never "light" or "misty" like it can be back home. it is more "CRASH-BOOM-CRASH-POUND-POUND-CRASH". I think you get the idea.

By tomorrow morning the weather system that brought us this welcome rain will have moved north east to Colorado and into the mid-west only to slam into some cold Canadian air to become another foot of snow in Minnesota and Manitoba. On the other hand we will go back to warm sunshine with highs back up to 80F by Wednesday. Yippie!

It has been 10 days since my last confession. Whoa! Flashback! I mean it has been 10 days since my last blog post. In that time Robin and Robert arrived from Canada, birded, hiked, travelled to Jerome and Sedona, golfed (twice for Robert), birded some more and oh, did sleep some. I think they were going home to have a rest. Great having you guys here. We had fun!

Birding has been excellent. We went to Boyce Thompson Arboretum this past week and saw not only the regular suspects but two possible rarities for that location. (Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Fox Sparrow). We also finally got 100% positive identification of a Costa's Hummingbird. The icing on the cake was the spotting of a hummingbird nest with 2 chicks and a mom. Wow, wow!

We wrapped up our Bocce Ball league with another loss. Enough said.

I wrapped up my tennis assistant coaching duties. I hope to be asked to help out next year. It was a lot of fun, and rewarding too.

We have not been on our bikes for over 10 days. If the roads are dry in the morning we will ride our normal route. We are both feeling the need to ride our bikes.

The week ahead will be busy. Friends Bruce and Sue arrive on Monday for a one week stay. Party on, Dude.....

Before I close I want to say that someone from Russia and someone from Ukraine viewed my blog last week. I wish there was some way I could get them together to talk about what is good in their world and encourage them to reach out to their friends and appeal for peace. I wish you guys a long and peaceful future.

Here are a few photos shot in the last ten days. Enjoy!