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Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: #Rain, Rain, Go Away?

Big Raindrop splash

March 1st was the first day of Meteorological spring in the northern hemisphere. Lately, our weather has been strange and unpredictable. Just last week, it snowed two inches in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho just a few miles from downtown Spokane, where it only rained. Then, we got two inches of snow Saturday morning and by 2pm it was mostly melted!

I’ve read many bloggers’ posts about the warm temps in the Midwest, ranging from 55 F degrees to 8! Yikes!

Evergreen with water drops

“The rain begins with a single drop.” ~ Manal al-Sharif

The El Nino weather pattern brings more rain to places that don’t see as much rain as a rule. Our area is considered high desert/Alpine, so drier conditions prevail even though we can expect 3-4 months of snow. By now, we usually see temperatures in the upper 40s(F), with more sunny days than rain or snow.

But on those rainy days … sometimes you see the storm coming…

Rain-clouds
Rain clouds in hot pursuit!

And when it rains…

Double Rain Splash
Make Mine a Double

I don’t want the rain to go away, we need the water too much.

hail, rain mix abstract
Wintry Mix

“Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.”
~ John Updike

A rainy day can upset your outdoor plans. On a vacation in Baja, Mexico in February 2010, I longed for a warm stand-up paddle session and waited impatiently for the rain to stop as I gazed annoyed out the window.

Rainy Day SUP
Rainy Day SUP

“If the rain spoils our picnic, but saves a farmer’s crop, who are we to say it shouldn’t rain?”
~ Tom Barrett

As much as a rainy day can upset our plans, the after-effects of the rain sure make for eye-catching views…

Rain-soaked rose glistens
Rainy rosebud
Raindrops sit delicately atop a spring rose bud
rain on rosebush

…Reflections…

Sunshine on the palms and pine after a rainy night reflected in a puddle
Reflection of a winter evergreen reflected in a puddle beneath my feet.

…And rainbows!

Rainbow over construction
Rainbow over a construction project

“What a psalm the storm was singing, and how fresh the smell of the washed earth and leaves, and how sweet the still small voices of the storm!” ~ John Muir

Summer Delta Storm
Summer Delta Storm
stormy skies
Blue Sky peeks through stormy spring clouds
Rain drops
Rainfall — Last on the card

I couldn’t resist adding this AI-generated image (text: a rainy day in the style of Thomas Kincade). The image looks very much like where we live in Eastern Washington!

AI gen rainy day

Thank you to everyone who shared their links and thoughts about photo editing and its processes and tools. It was very educational and I came away with some great ideas I can use.

“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.” ~ Langston Hughes

flower border

Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week

Each week I find inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Please comment on my post if you choose to link your post to Sunday Stills.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

This Week’s Featured Bloggers

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers, poets, artists, and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their photos of RAINY DAYS. I add these all week as new links are posted.

What do you like to do on a rainy day?

Here is your chance to share your rainy-day images for Sunday Stills this week. You can share rain as it falls, raindrops on flowers, rainbows, storm clouds, and puddles with cool reflections…the stormy sky is the limit!

Join me next week for the monthly color challenge: GREEN!

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130 comments

  6. I bet you were excited to capture those huge splashes – nice job! Were they through the window or did you venture out in the rain? The rain kissed flowers are stunning too. I had to search for photos of the rain. Our weather has been wonky too and last year it was on the dry side more than the wet side. I fear that pingbacks are back to wonky, so to save you time, here’s my take on your prompt this week. I hope you have a great week and that you’re ready to spring ahead with the clocks next Sunday! https://www.quaintrevival.com/ms-snarken-hearkened-the-scrolling-reporter-in-me/

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    • Hi Shelley, thanks for adding your link in the comments. Of course the link doesn’t work this week, LOL! Lets blame the weather!
      We have a huge patio cover so I was able to kneel down on the semi-dry outdoor rug and get close to the drips and rain as it poured down. I couldn’t believe how big the drops were and the double splash was just kismet! All that rain and yesterday’s snow is gone like it never happened.

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      • You’re welcome. Dang about the link. I blame the weather for a lot of things 🤣😂😁
        Ah…yes, that makes sense about the patio cover giving you shelter. Brilliant – way to venture out there to get close for the photos. The rain drops were huge.
        We had a pop-up storm that came and went so fast I think it just made mud on our dusty windows instead of helping the self-washing coating work. 🤔

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  8. Fabulous rain and snow photos, Terri. We were 73 degrees F one day, and the next we were 23 degrees F. We had thunderstorms and lightning, hail, and howling winds (again). The next day we had snow flurries. Climate change is here and our weather is likely to get more violent. Hope you’re okay out West. California is getting horrible storms. 💖

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  9. I can see that you’re having fun making AI images, Terri. I have to say that my favorite image is your photo of the two raindrops (make mine a double). What a delightful catch! Water is just so beautiful. That said, I’m getting a little tired of the (frozen) water drifting from the sky. We’ve had more snow this week than we’ve had all winter! Usually we’re mowing the lawn about now. :-) Here’s to some sunshine!

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  10. Great shots of the rainbow and the individual drops of rain. We’ve actually had a dry day today with sunshine, and I’ve been down to London to take some flowers to my mother’s grave for Mother’s Day. Wonderful not to have to suffer the spray from lorries.

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  11. Great post Terri! I love your water drops. Were the rain drops that big? Here’s what I propose, we have a talk with mother nature and let her know it’s okay to rain, even all the time, but only at night while we are sleeping. During the day she can allow the sun to shine giving the soil some time to dry and us to do whatever we enjoy.

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    • Thank you, Anne! Those raindrops were big and I kneeled down and caught them (on accident)–it was a good torrential soaking for a few minutes–luckily our patio cover kept me dry. Yes, let’s remind Mother Nature that we love the rain but night time is best 😉

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  14. I love the macro rain drop image on that wood. It’s the colours and textures of the wood that draws my eye. Those reflection ones are super cool.

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  17. We rejoice when it rains in the desert and do a happy dance 💃🏻🌵😁 We received a fair amount of precipitation this past winter. Thus, hoping for a good showing of wildflowers 🤞

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  21. Love the quotes Terri. We haven’t seen much rain lately, for a good few months and everyone is hoping for some! We live in a small pocket that seems to miss the rain when it does fall as well!

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  24. Terri, I am part of the Midwest crowd with the weird weather. Last Tuesday we hit 73 and with it came predictions of two-inch hail and tornadoes. Luckily, our county remained unscathed, but the next day the wind raged at 45 mph all day. I still fear for this massive dead tree two yards from me dropping another branch on the electrical wire and causing a fire. We’re 71 degrees tomorrow – May weather in March. Not your father’s Spring thaw! I like your raindrops pinging into the puddle. Those are great quotes and yes, rain may spoil our plans, but others depend on rain for their livelihood. The saturated rose is beautiful. It’s funny, I saw that photo at the end and on your blogsite header image and thought immediately of Thomas Kinkade. My mom loved to do jigsaw puzzles and had a few by that artist over the years.
    I am giving you the link for my post, which I also linked to this post, but I don’t think I’ve fulfilled the Challenge very well unless you count ice as liquid rain. I don’t usually walk in the rain – too many years of waiting on the bus soured me on that, but I will try to change my mindset about walking in the rain. Feel free to eliminate my post as a Challenge contributor as I had no pics pertaining to rain to use.
    https://lindaschaubblog.net/2024/03/03/whats-that-bright-yellow-orb-in-the-sky/

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    • All our snow is gone, but cold temps are still around. I miss having roses, and it will be a while before we see any blooms here. I need to remember to plant tulip bulbs in September. Tulips, crocus and irises pop up here in early spring. One of these days I’ll be a gardner 🤣
      I’m sure your post will be fine. I’m out of the house and will read and add to the round up soon.

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      • We will have a dusting of snow this week despite our 75-degree day today. Crazy! When I first started gardening in 1985, I planted tea roses – I don’t know why I picked that variety. It takes forever for one bloom, then if it rains or is windy, that’s it for a while. I decided to try shrub roses instead and had lots of luck with them. In fact the Polar Vortex of 2013-2014 left them brown and lifeless, so I cut them to the ground in Spring, intending to have the handyman yank out the roots which I knew would be large. They grew back, Phoenix-like, stronger than before. I bought three climbing roses, but they continuously had black spot and never took off, so I removed them and put a hydrangea there. I’m still trying to decide what to do with the backyard: grass versus a butterfly garden. Glad you okayed my post – I squeaked by on that Challenge. 🙂

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  30. We’ve had a mild winter too and hardly any snow. The rain has been pretty heavy at times, though.

    Another fabulous collection of images, Terri! I’m blown away by the splash photos – they are amazing! The flowers look lovely, decorated with raindrops, and those storm skies are beautiful. Your rainbow is very strong! The one I captured in weak by comparison. 😆

    https://thedogladysden.com/rainy-days-sundaystills-on-a-monday-photography/

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    • Thank you Debbie! We were gone in January and it got super cold in Spokane with not a lot of snow either. March is already making up for the lack of snowfall. I was blown away with the capture of those drops. The new patio cover lent to the rain dripping off its metal roof.

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  32. Lovely rain-inspired shots and some great quotes, reminding us that we shouldn’t complain about something so essential! Nothing from me this week however as I’m still playing catch-up after my trip and sorting the mountains of photos!

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    • Thank you so much, Tina! We’ve had three seasons’ worth of weather in the last few days, now there is snow on the ground again–not very deep but making driving slippery for those who must venture out. March and April here tend to be stormy so we’ll see what bratty El Nino has in store this spring 😉

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  37. WOW, 82 comments already, and it’s only Monday! Whew! Sunday is my day off blogging, but maybe I need to rearrange my schedule somewhat! Your photos of rain are so much fun, especially all your splatters. I think I’m going to do a post on Thursday with Tanka Tuesday and double dip. Rain doesn’t fit the animal theme for this week, unless I find some drippy animals. But since I rarely go out in the rain, we haven’t crossed paths. Your AI pictures are amazing, too. Is that fun what AI can do? Have a great week. We go to Scottsdale Wed. for a dr. appointment and lunch with Jodie, Rob, John and Lynn. Can’t wait. 🙂 Wish you were here. It’s cold in Prescott, though!

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    • Thank you, Marsha! I think people like talking about the weird 2024 weather! What? No rain-soaked birds or animals to photograph? The huge splatters came from the accumulation of rain and snow settling on the metal roof of our patio cover. I’m just getting ready to go out the door for an eye exam appt and its pouring snow. Oh yay!
      I’m a bit envious of your warmer temps and your upcoming lunch with the bloggers–tell them I say hello and throw a snowball at them 😉
      I see your Prescott weather is 55 and sunny–I would LOVE that. Oh well, we expect warmer weather gradually and the sun is out longer.

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  48. Besides the amazing splash photos, I enjoyed seeing your bitmoji updated at the end!! Not sure I’ll pull off a fresh rain post this week but am endeavoring to jump back in for next weeks monthly color pics. We’re freezing and have accumulated fluffy snow. Deep enough that Steve got the truck stuck in our driveway trying to turn around. I see a future plow on the shopping lists for this place…before next winter anyways. For now, we’re hoping the next couple weeks is the end of the snowy days and we move onto rain and mud. 

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  49. Terri, I’ve read your blog for a long time. These are the best pictures ever. The raindrops and splashing takes a bit of skill, and you nailed it. Loved speaking to you on Saturday. I got a lot out of your last post. Have a great weekend. Joe

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    • Wow, thank you so much, Joe! My metal patio cover might have to take some credit for creating larger splashes of the drops. And you know a dedicated photographer gets down and hands and knees for the shot. Skill, luck, not sure which, but I was happy with the results 😀
      And I really had fun talking with you as well!

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  55. I guess that Header image is another AI, Terri? Despite myself, I love it. But it has that air of theatricality, not quite real. It’s not really a photograph, whereas your photos, edited though they may be, are real and very beautiful. 

    But I’m harping back to an old subject! Let’s focus on rain. Normally I can sit here with a smug smile and blue skies but this week we actually have had our share, and some wonderful skies to go with. Deliciously helping to fill the reservoirs, though the news is all still drought. I have a couple of traveling friends whose plans have been ruined- if you’ve paid for a parador with a balcony view of the most stunning gorge in Andalucia and it’s invisible due to rain…well, it’s March! They have seen some amazing sights in their lives and this is just another to add to the store of memories. If you’re coming from sunshine deprived UK for just a couple of weeks, not so great. Will we ever get tired of talking about weather, Terri?

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    • Thanks, Jo! I keep the AI use to a bare minimum. For the headers I sometimes do different backgrounds with text overlay. Too bad about the rain and the expectations visitors have. Just like one year we traveled to the desert Southwest to enjoy warmth and sun and it snowed! Had to change all our plans. Talk about adventure! And no, we all love to talk about the weather 🙂

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  56. Your rainy photos are great, Terri. I love how you captured the splash raindrops make. That must have been some heavy droplets to have produced such a big splash.

    I don’t mind rainy days, especially in the summer. I also fall asleep much easier when I can hear rain on the roof or windows.

    Here’s another past Wordless Wednesday post with the theme of rain.

    http://hughsviewsandnews.com/2022/11/02/rain-shower-over-swansea-wordlesswednesday-photography/

    I rather enjoy watching the showers move across Swansea Bay.

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    • Thank you, Hugh! The extra large rain splashes were a result of the water rolling off the metal roof of our patio cover. It was like Niagara Falls the other day. The day I took photos looking for puddles and water, was when I inadvertently caught the splashes!
      Thanks for linking your WW post. That is an amazing picture!

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  61. Rain is one of the world’s most precious commodities and some of us still complain. Though some have good reason when enduring it for a week or more. Here’s to more rain hitting the right places in the world. Hopefully, I’ll reconnect with your Sunday series soon.

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