Rainy Day

It's been raining for most of the day, here in the Central Atlantic Piedmont; a perfect day to lay back and take it easy, and considering that I drank more than my share of Zinfandel last night, not a hard choice to resign myself to. Once again, I'm listening to a broadcast of my favorite radio station, emanating from the campus of the University Of Virginia. Right now they they seem to be cruising on a jag, alternating from Latin and African, to reggae, bluesy rock and jazz, with a few other genres thrown in occasionally for good measure. Overall, a very good mix.

I love rainy fall days. The temperature has been hovering in the low 60's all day, so the infernal A/C units that are so necessary during hot, humid summer months, have been shut down for now. I'm always happy to to turn them off. I like being cool and dry, but they are noisy, and contribute to my sinus problems.

There was a beautiful wolf spider who took up residence this summer, on top of the large window unit I use to cool the great room. She made the most fantastic long tunnel of silk that she would lurk in, and stealthily wait for unfortunate passers by attracted by the light emanating from the window. Her silk is littered with the desiccated corpses of her hapless victims. She is enormous! A good 2 1/2 inches from leg tip, to leg tip. I loved looking at her, but I wouldn't dare put my hands near her, for fear of her deadly fangs. Spiders seem to go wild with web weaving this time of year. They are everywhere, probably trying to fatten themselves up for the long winter fast that awaits them.

I have a path starting in my back yard, that leads through the woods, down to the pond on the back side of my property. It's a lovely little moss covered path, surrounded by tall trees. If I had a red hooded cape and a basket, I could skip down that path, on my way to grandmother's house! The spiders just love that path! The first time I walked down through the woods, I walked full face into at least three webs they had strung across the path to trap unsuspecting flies. Now, whenever I walk down to the pond, I look for a long stick, and hold it out in front of me, twirling it in a circular motion to wind up the barely visible webs of spider silk, before my face makes contact with them.

The rain is still coming down. The drops falling off of the roof, are dancing on top of the A/C unit outside my window, then leaping to join pools of their brothers and sisters on the ground. The squirrels that had been so talkative earlier in the day, are nestled away for the cool rainy night in their excellent homes, crafted a month ago from cut green leaves. The strains of John Coltrane are wafting from my stereo speakers, and I am at peace.