It’s been a rough and rocky week — not so much for me personally, but for the people around me, and in the news, and on social media. So, here’s a nice one-minute video of cool, soothing rain on a Japanese farm . . . with guest voice cameo by Greebo, the cat.
Rain on a Japanese farm — a meditation. With Greebo doing a voiceover at the 0:17 mark. Only one minute of peaceful rain — enough to calm your mind and let ideas float to the top. (E.M. Duskova) Flowers: Blue salvia, red salvia, dusty miller. Begonias near the greenhouse in the background. Bees keep flitting, even through the pouring rain.
Greebo, during sunnier days. (E.M. Duskova)
Greebo is a Grumpy-cat mix. He’s mostly black with a few orange markings that look like battle scars from a former life. He isn’t afraid of people, but he has no use for them unless they come bearing saucers of milk. (I know this because Auntie gives him a dish of scalded milk every morning, and he’ll let her pet him. Everyone else, he hisses at, then stalks away. Not runs. Stalks, with great dignity and he’s so affronted that you dared to approach him without a tribute for the conqueror.)
They say there are only two stories in the world: someone leaves home, or a stranger comes to town. I wonder what would happen if Greebo, anthropomorphized, showed up in my fictional town . . . .
Eight Ladies Writing 
The meditation is lovely, although it made me want to go back to bed. Instead, I’m off to meet a friend for a hike through woodland and prairie. It won’t be nearly so pretty though, as we’re going through our usual late-summer drought here.
I’ve been doing meditations or other similar things before bedtime for a few years now, and rain is one of the best — especially if it’s a warm night! I can totally understand wanting to head off to bed after watching it! (And I’m about to head off right now.)
The woodland and prairie hike sounds fun! I wonder if the winecups are blooming, or if it’s too late — or if you even get them in your area? Have a good walk and a great talk!
I looked them up on a garden site–very pretty. They grow in Zones 4-9 and I live in 6, so they should grow here just fine.
The wine-cups (or poppy mallow) grew wild in the park I had to cross to get home when I was a kindergartener, so I always have fond memories of them! That house has a lot of botanical memories for me; we were only there for two years, but someone had planted roses and a lot of older garden flowers. There was costmary near the laundry poles, and hollyhocks and huge mulberry trees by the property line! My great-aunt also lived right across from the school, and her garden was full of pretty flowers, always.
Michaeline, is this your farm? Wherever you found the meditation, it’s lovely. And I sure wish we were getting all that lovely rain.
I wish you were getting some of this rain, too. I hope you and Elizabeth are doing OK! The orange skies I see on Twitter are just sullen and angry. I see that the fires go all the way to Nebraska, so I hope that Justine is safe, too.
(-: Yes, it’s our farm — my MIL’s flower bed. She always plants out a real show each year.
It’s raining again right now, and pretty chilly. I’ve opened the window so the room doesn’t get too stuffy, and that zaa-zaa-zaa of a steady rain is making ready for an 11 a.m. nap. Zzzzzaaaaaaaaaa.