As the rain comes down.....

in buckets. The sound is music on the metal roof (part tin and part other metal) and my plants and the orchard have no complaints. If the rain keeps up (we are getting a cool front tomorrow - isn't that great?) for a few days, we can have the fella' come back and re-grade and gravel our driveway. We'll put cement on the top (in light amounts) and water it to make the gravel hold together better.....a more sturdy solution for the winter months.

So now, what do you get for a couple who have everything, need nothing and are celebrating their anniversary? It is their 54th and they are my parents. DH and I will be taking them to Brass Town Resort for the seafood buffet tomorrow night to celebrate. Very elegant. Dad likes the seafood part. Mom likes the elegant part. But what to get them?

On their 50th, they had planted a Japanese Maple. With the drought, it did not make it. So, even though they have a forest full of trees surrounding them, we thought it would be a great idea to get a replacement Japanese Maple for their yard. Off DH and I went to go "tree shopping" at a local nursery (we have actually been looking for about a week). At the nursery, we are checking out all the various Japanese Maples - DH says they are "Acers". The nursery is on the outside of town near where I remember my grandfather's farm being. Jeff went off to find some help, when I found the perfect tree. The name suited the occasion perfectly - a "Glowing Embers" Japanese Maple - get it - "glowing embers" for the celebration of a long-term marriage. So we packed it up, picked up a card, said something schmaltzy and cliche' and drove over to deliver it.

Funny part was, at 3:30, we passed them on the road into town as they headed off to an anniversary dinner....they did not notice us, but their truck is distinctive. It made it all the better to get to their house and deliver the tree while they were gone. Mission of the tree fairies accomplished.

When it rains here, we lose satellite feed. We get to be entertained by the rain and it's sounds, read or as I am now, write for the Blog. The four-legged fur-ball is distressed by the rain....she gets whiny (sounds like a teenager again) and so she makes us slightly crazy - whether she intends to or it is just coincidental, she is quite successful. I can stand whiny babies and laugh at and scold whiny teens - but whiny creatures can not be reasoned with. Silence of the beast would make the sound of the rain more enjoyable.

Well, off to do some research for work. Listening to the rain is soothing and the storms here in the mountain are just so much more raw and powerful. Battery back-up for the alarm clock is installed in case we lose power (common for stormy weather here) and I have 2 hours of battery or more for the computer if needed. Just another perfect day in paradise - the mountains....

Be blessed,
Kim