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It Rained!

Officially, it hasn't rained here since April 21, 2001, although I remember about a month ago that there was a big thunder cloud, and we got pelted with some fat dusty drops while driving over the pass between the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys. I guess we ran into "virga" (wisps of precipitation evaporating before reaching the ground).

I left work just about sunset, when the air was falling down the chaparral-coverd hillside into the parking lot. The fragrance was so fabulous! The first part to notice was the moistness of the air, falling like a very thin stream across my face and shoulders. Next was a sharp, almost citrus sensation in my nose. It wasn't a smell, not exactly, but a feeling that only my nostrils were sensitive to. As I walked across the lot to my car, I crossed several of these streams of air, each with its own feel. Some had actual smells that I couldn't quite identify - maybe wild fennel - or some stringent herb - possibly a revived sage plant, all giving up an essence in exchange for that moisture. These exotic smells were interleaved with the more normal odors of a parking lot - stale exhuast, acrid oil, gasoline.

It was cool!