ARG - The Wolves Of The White Nights

Presidents and their dogs

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1830236,00.html

Huge euchalyptus uprooted in storm

Ace and I walk this park almost daily.  I'm so happy I refused to let him walk me here last night because I was fearful the high winds might blow down one of these trees. Eucalyptus trees have shallow roots so it's not uncommon for huge trees to come down during times of rain/high wind.  There were 40,000 homes who lost power during the storm; 5,000 still without power this morning .  [These are cell phone photos so quality isn't the greatest.]

Tree down from rainstorm yesterday

Rain Waltz

There is much news today:  relevant news.  Afghanistan.  Health care reform.  Issues which concern me greatly, and about which I am emotionally invested.  But, this morning, it is raining.  Not just "sky-dripping."  Truly raining.

It's the kind of rain that is a steady hum, sometimes graduated in pitch, punctuated with singular loud drips and streams running... rain that commands an audience, moves one to the window, and then to stand at an open door or on covered porch.  This rainfall dictates television and radio be silenced so that one can become synchronized with the music and movement of the moment.  It's like a waltz of nature.  When you hear its beckoning, you can't resist its tempo, and you are reminded how long it has been since you last waltzed.

And, it's in the stepping of the Rain Waltz, with nature as my partner, that my heart sings such gratitude for this blessed communion.

Leonard Cohen - Dance Me to the End Of Love

Beloved Ace