August 26, 2006 — This morning, I was on our front porch doing my stretches not long after daylight, watching the mountains across the lake disappear into clouds. The lake became misty and then was mostly lost from view. It wasn’t raining at our place: our swimming pool was clear and still.

Suddenly I heard a dull steady sound, not tremendously loud. I just had time to think it might be rain approaching and then it was there, a wild downpour, the waters of the pool churning with the heavy drops. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard rain approaching like that before!

A little later, I was jogging on my rebounder on the porch as the rain died down. A few rays of sunlight came in at an oblique angle and shone on a big lychee tree in our yard. I didn’t notice the light on the leaves, where it didn’t make them enough brighter to be marked, but on the trunk and branches they were dramatic.

It’s been a good day. I’ve been working on a website pretty steadily all day, enjoying the natural beauty here when I took breaks. Kelly’s been doing his usual rhythm of days at home, back and forth between computer and outdoor projects. I did some water aerobics in our pool late in the afternoon and my mind wandered to the book, The Power of Now. The title says it all. Today has had a lot of good now!