This morning it’s raining — not a few drops or even a lot of drops for a short period of time — but instead a steady rain, a wonderful, beneficial rain.

It wasn’t raining while I was at the corral this morning. However, the sky was a cobalt black color. There was a little thunder, too, and I could see a tiny bit of rainbow peeking out from behind the clouds. When I finished putting out hay and filling the stock tank and started back to the house, the black clouds were moving to the north.

I had just made it back to the house when I heard some raindrops hitting the stovepipe and metal roof. I expected the rain to continue for a short time and then stop, following this previous summer’s pattern, but instead it rained harder and harder, then settling into a steady, not so hard rain. It rained all during the time that I made a phone call.

---

---

I had to take some letters to the mailbox just across the county road so I bundled up and put the letters inside my coat so they wouldn’t get wet and made my way to the car. On the way I noticed that the older cats and some weaned kittens, that were sitting in the feed pan a little earlier, had gone to take shelter elsewhere. So had a doe and three fawns that I had seen crawling under the metal gate into
the yard.

When I drove to the mailbox I watched water running down the driveway and noticed that water was starting to fill a dip in the lane road. A pool of water was standing next to the mailbox, and I noticed that Pipi’s Pasture was wet. The sight of all this water was wonderful. It was also reminiscent of rainy days on the Morapos ranch when I was growing up.

---

---

It seemed like it happened every year in July and August. We had rain that lasted maybe 48 hours or more. Ranch work came to a halt. Haying was out until things dried up, and ranchers couldn’t really ride on the national forest to check the cattle, either. We still had chores. We kids fed our 4-H animals and carried grain to the chickens. Dad milked the cow. Mom put curlers in her hair because she knew we would probably go somewhere.

During the rain we sometimes drove into Craig to do some shopping and have lunch. When the rain stopped and things dried out, we attended the Ride ‘n Tie Rodeo in Craig (remarkably, it always rained about then).

What a treat for us kids. We got to go to the rodeo and eat hot dogs and other treats from the concession stand. Sometimes we went fishing. Then we stopped at the Hamilton Store for hot dogs, buns, chips, and soda — all treats that we didn’t usually have.

In late August it rained during the Moffat County Fair. I will never forget the sound of rain on the fairgrounds barn. It was deafening. The doors to the barn were closed, but rain ran down the partially opened windows along the walls.

I’m so grateful for the moisture and the memories.