Rain at last!

Well, you may think us mad, and we're really sorry if you hate the rain and it's spoiling your day, but Grace and I are delighted that it's tipping it down here, and has been since yesterday evening. It's very windy, too, rocking the boat a lot, and repeatedly blowing our 3G antenna right off the signal, and we could happily do without that. But the rain...! It sounds so good on the roof, and it has to be making some difference to the canal level.
 
OK, I'm not about to say I relish the thought of going out in it. In fact, we postponed a trip to the cinema this afternoon because we really didn't want to leave the cosiness of Kantara, but I'm beginning to appreciate the sentiments of a lady whose blog I looked at recently, speaking of her new experience of living in a tent in a barn!

 ...it has been fascinating to me to notice not only how unharmed I remain from the ostensibly hostile elements, but in fact how much better I feel. For example, rain is usually thought to be an excellent reason to stay indoors, even if this means staying cooped up in a dim, gloomy house. But meanwhile I'm out there enjoying the song of the rain on the roof, leaves, grass, driveway, and myriad other musical surfaces! I'm amused now at the discrepancy between how pleasant it is to experience rain and the gloominess that I felt when I voluntarily limited myself to the house so as to avoid the hardships of being exposed to the rain! The beauty of the sky-water's earthbound journey, the splashes and drips and gathering into pools and rivulets... Rainy days are not inherently dark, depressing occasions, quite the contrary. It is our allegiance to the dark, disconnected house environment that make them seem so.
Likewise for temperature: I have noticed that while a warm spring day feels nice at 50ºF (10ºC), even 60ºC (15ºC) feels cold in a house.  ("The Adventures of Christopher and Rosemary")

In cold weather, Kantara starts the day colder than a house. The windows are double glazed, but there are gaps around exterior doors, and around the side hatch, and drafty ventilation grills - a health and safety requirement. We have central heating, but it takes longer to take effect than in a house. So we have got used to living in a colder environment - and it doesn't feel so bad any more, it feels normal. I surprise myself by walking across the marina after dark  without a jacket or sweater on.

But today is an exception! We'll just stay in, and stay snug, while the rain beats on the roof and walls, the boat rocks, and night draws in. My one excursion onto the starboard gunnel to tighten a loose anchoring bolt for the antenna was quite enough!