A Double Rainbow Graces Cogville
By
Cognitive Dissonance
It has been a somewhat dry spring so far. Not dust bowl dry, but rather a lack of vibrant green dry. During a more 'normal' spring up here on the mountain, there’s usually that point during the early tree bloom when it appears there are a thousand shades of green everywhere you look.
Not so much this year. There is still plenty of green, but much less contrast.
What we do have is a massive weed bloom where the normally dark green grass would be. Weeds cope well in dry conditions and tend to hog all the available water, effectively crowding out the grass. When moisture is abundant, the opposite tends to occur.
Though to be honest, we don't have 'grass' so much as we have closely mowed hay fields. I'm not sure the previous owners ever actually planted grass everywhere they cleared. And if they did, it is slowly being overwhelmed by Mother Nature’s own version of a green carpet.
Regardless, it has been dry. Therefore we have been closely watching the weather reports for signs of rain. To help matters along I did an Internet search the other day for the proper technique used to conduct an old school rain dance. I decided to skip the idea when there was mention of naked dancing. Poor Mrs. Cog can only tolerate so much.
Late yesterday a line of thunderstorms rolled through bringing us nearly an hour of welcome rain, most of which soaked in rather than ran off. That's the problem with a hard dry surface composed primarily of clay. If it rains too hard, it tends to roll away down the slope. And that's just about all we have around here, lots of clay and plenty of slope.
What we really need is a full day or two of slow soaking rain. Maybe next week. One can always hope.
As the storm passed us heading east I heard a shriek of joy from Mrs. Cog as she excitedly informed me there was a beautiful rainbow off the back deck. I took a look, agreed it was beautiful, and then got back to work on my computer. That's what curmudgeons do. We curmudgeon.
A few minutes later she quipped that her rainbow had now morphed into a double rainbow. Not that's a rare sight and I quickly left my computer to take in the view.
And what a view it was.
Unfortunately my camera phone does not do the rainbow justice, for the colors of the primary rainbow were even brighter and sharper than the image reflects. I can't remember the last rainbow I saw that was as colorful and sharply defined, including deep reds and blues, as this one was. Plus it extended over the entire arc, though its vibrancy declined just a little bit towards the south/right.
And unlike many rainbows, which tend to dissipate within minutes, the show lasted for what seemed like an hour, with the double fading first and the primary lasting somewhat longer.
We tend to take our environment for granted. Despite my love of the area, of being surrounded by everything Mother Nature has to offer, my mind begins to ignore much of what I could see if I would only consciously choose to look. Particularly when driving the back roads, I sometimes force myself to 'look' at what is already there so that I will actually see. This drives Mrs. Cog crazy because the car tends to wander when my attention is diverted.
So I very much appreciate yesterday's light show. It was a very stark and vivid reminder of everything my location has to offer.
05-08-2018
Cognitive Dissonance
