Repose for a rainy day

Living in a thatched roof house is like living in a silent world, with the sound of the rain being dampened by the thatch and ‘brandsolder’. The closed shutters on the bedroom windows keep the morning light at bay. They create a distorted sense of time that might cause the uninitiated visitor to sleep until noon or later.

The first time I became aware of the rain on Friday morning, was when I walked into the drawing room and library. The rain was too soft to make a sound on the corrugated iron roof over this part of the house but the gutters were singing with the sound of running water.

I opened the shutters of the double doors leading onto the lawn to unveil a wet garden with silver droplets of rain hanging on the bare branches of the oak tree. The magical light in the garden made me take my camera and step out into the wet morning air. With nobody else about at that time of the morning, the silence of the rain was enchanting.

The garden looked and smelled fresh as I walked along pipped pathways looking for the magical images to capture with my camera.

The rosarium provided a wealth of amazing images. The wet roses took on a different intensity of colour with the soaked petals.  I enjoyed trying to capture it through the lens of my camera. Looking at the roses through the lens drew the images into my eye with a concentrated intensity. That made me even more aware of the magic of our garden.

The colours and aroma of the garden in the cool silent morning was luxurious. I felt blessed doing what I love in my garden - with a camera in hand trying to capture the magic. One can never fully capture the magic. The magic is a personal experience and I decided to simply enjoy the repose of a rainy day.