It’s day one at the lake and I’ve been itching to get onto the water but the weather has been fickle. Neighbors tell me that they haven’t had rain in weeks but there was a good chance for it today.

Of course.

All day the wind has been gusty and and blowing away from the house, so I hesitated taking the kayak out, concerned about battling the elements to get back home. Twice I went out to chance it and was turned back by the wind.

By evening things had settled down, the sky was still a pretty blue with puffy white clouds. I decided to take the kayak up the slough toward the cyprus trees.

Just a short jaunt.

It was peaceful up there, water like glass reflecting the pretty trees. But I noticed the clouds overhead were changing.

And I heard a noise coming up the slough behind me. It sounded like a fast boat, which would be unusual, but newcomers to the lake sometimes mistake our little slough with a throughway to bigger water. So I moved over to the side and turned around to watch.

It took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t a boat coming around the curve. It was rain. Really loud hard pounding rain. The kind that will instantly soak you.

Nothing to do but sit there and watch it come. It began to sprinkle a few fat drops on me. I braced myself.

And there it sat, about 10 yards away from me, the water pouring down and the lake rough with wind. I continued to sit in a slight shower, complete with sun above.

Then it moved across the slough, up the hill and disappeared. I shook my head as if to clarify what I had just seen.

And then I paddled peacefully through the sun drenched evening on a little piece of a big lake toward home.