Moving from the Mojave Desert to the Oregon Coast is a drastic change in weather and climate. I really looked forward to the cooler weather as the heat over the years had really become much too hot for me in the desert. I was also looking forward to the rain, something we rarely experienced in the big desert valley, lined with mountains on all sides. The rain and snow would often reach the mountains and dissipate by the time it reached our area.
Of course, I was also a little nervous about the rain. There is more rain on the Oregon Coast and I wasn’t sure if I would become sad on the endless cloudy days in winter. We moved into the new house on the lake on New Year’s Eve in the dead of winter. Our trip was almost stopped by snow on the Freeway as we drove through Mount Shasta. It was certainly cold and rainy on the last stretch of highway to get here. However the rain lightened to a sprinkle upon our arrival and then left all together by the time we got out to the house. It felt like a nice little welcome.
Over the next months it would rain more than I’ve ever experienced in my life and I was surprised by my reaction. I absolutely loved it. I loved watching it in all its various forms, I loved rating it in terms of severeness, I loved watching how it interacted with the lake and with the trees. There are so many types of rain here! There is the soft mist that doesn’t really fall, but rather just hovers in the air, incidentally making everything lightly damp. There are the sprinkles – those make me so happy to watch as they dot the lake with little drops and pools of rings that expand from them. There is the soft rain that just gently falls, not stopping any outdoor activity really as it is so gentle I almost forget it’s raining. Then there is the standard rain that just rains and rains and falls and falls with seemingly no end. That one might be my least favorite because it is such a typical sort of rain. Then there is the heavy rain that really pours, soaking everything in a matter of seconds. Then there is the torrential downpour. This one is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The rain falls so hard and so fast that I question whether it is hail. The sound on the roof is like an explosion when it begins. It always startles me but is also sort of exciting! I love to stop everything and watch this type of rain. It’s mesmerizing how much sheer power it has as it wields itself down over everything. Of course, this one rarely lasts very long, at most a half an hour but more often just a handful of minutes until it either passes or turns back into standard rain.
I think living on the lake improves my perspective on the rain. I get to watch it sparkle on the top of the lake, and create whirlpools in the water when it’s combined with wind. I certainly think living in town without the view of the water would be a bit more disheartening when it rained for long periods of time. I would imagine I wouldn’t notice the variations in the rain as much without living in a cabin covered in windows. I feel so fortunate to live here to get to experience the rain in all of its forms on the lake, from our little cabin perched high above the water.
