Tag Archives: rain

Oh, but what a marvelously dreary day here in the Green Mountains! I do so enjoy a day moodily draped in fog and drizzle, though the weather has pointed out some of my less-than-ideal roof patches.

After an early morning of re-patching, I’m taking a break to warm myself in front of the fire (with a hot cup of coffee, naturally).

I thought you might enjoy this gorgeous picture from the delightful S. Keen, who belongs to a shooting syndicate in the UK. They shoot pheasant, partridge, and wild ducks. Naturally, Ms. Keen makes sure to wear the appropriate gear – including the Double Finger Claw Ring found in the Attic. It all sounds rather delightful, as S. Keen describes it, especially the gobs of Sloe Gin and Fennel Vodka served during the hunt. (I’m quite a sucker for a good cocktail.)

Thank you, S. Keen, for sharing photos with me. I do enjoy seeing my finds in their new homes.

And, naturally, I toast you during this season. To the hunt!

The Rain

All night the sound had
come back again,
and again falls
this quiet, persistent rain.

What am I to myself
that must be remembered,
insisted upon
so often? Is it

that never the ease,
even the hardness,
of rain falling
will have for me

something other than this,
something not so insistent—
am I to be locked in this
final uneasiness.

Love, if you love me,
lie next to me.
Be for me, like rain,
the getting out

of the tiredness, the fatuousness, the semi-
lust of intentional indifference.
Be wet
with a decent happiness.

By Robert Creeley from Selected Poems of Robert Creeley.

silken viscera

effulgent in the moonlight

perfect on wheat toast

Apparently hunting in a freezing rain inspires dear Bubo. Perhaps this will cure any blues you have today.

Bubo’s poetry always cures my blues.

There are wicked storms brewing all over the country, pets. New Mexico had a blizzard, freezing winds are slicing through Minnesota, and it has been raining across the East Coast. The dragons are organizing a “living menorah” for Hanukkah, though with the rain I am less concerned for my non-fire retardant house.

The slick weather has kept me indoors, making latkes with Mordecai and I hope everyone who travels to Grand Army Plaza for the giant menorah lighting will stay dry and warm.

All this weather-watching brings me to today’s word.

Pluviculture is a noun meaning the science of making rain. Originally from the Latin for rain, built on the model of agriculture.

During the Dust Bowl era of the American Great Depression, traveling showmen criss-crossed the country attempting to “make rain”.

Cloud seeding has been utilized since the 1940’s, and not just for ending droughts. The US military had a rainmaking operation called Operation Popeye intended to slow down military truck activity in Vietnam during the Vietnam War by increasing the rains over the country.

Nowadays, rainmaking has even taken on a metaphorical meaning, referring to the process of bringing new clients and new money into a company.

No need for pluviculture in Brooklyn these days; Mother Nature is taking care of the precipitation for us.