Normally when the rain comes everyone huddles indoors and becomes very bored and anxious to get back outside. However, if you’re prepared for it, with warm clothes and rain gear, the rain shouldn’t stop you one bit!
In fact, one of my favorite things to do is go hiking through the forest in the rain and get a little wet. The forest becomes even more amazing when you are out there in the rain.
All sorts of organisms love the rain. When you walk in the rain, you will see all sorts of creatures you might not see all the time. After the rain the forest becomes filled with life, as plants and mushrooms begin to sprout all over, you see salamanders and slugs wandering around in the wet wonderland, and most of the mammals are well adapted for the rain and stay active throughout the rainy season. The redwood forest is a temperate rain forest and the creatures that live there are always anxious for the water after a long dry summer. In fact, you can even put out some rain collectors to gather water to use for any plants you might have, and help conserve the water you use at home.
Besides the living things, there are also other ways the rain appeals to all your senses. There is beauty that you can see, hear, feel, smell, and even taste in the rain. The sounds and smells alone are something that draws me into the woods when it rains. Sometimes I just sit in the forest with my eyes closed, and listen to the rain falling on the leaves and smell the wet earth underneath me.
When it rained a couple weeks ago, I saw a lot of it pooling up around in the dirt. I decided to get a shovel (a stick would work as well) and started to create little streams that led down to the creek. The further I dredged, the bigger the river got! Once I had my river flowing well, I grabbed some nice leaves and floated them down stream. I enjoyed watching my little leaf boats head down my river, and then off into the creek.
And of course one of the best things after playing outside in the rain is to come inside and warm up by a fire. Take off the wet clothes, grab a cozy blanket, and hunker down by the flames, and pretty soon you will be warm, dry, and happy.
-Typhoon