Rain, Rain, Go Away

You know what I'm sick and tired of?

Rain.

This morning is the first time I've seen the sun in this city in over a week. The rainy/dreariness has been non-stop since before I left for Florida last week. I mentioned in my last post how hard it was to come back to chilly, rainy weather after my weekend of sunshine and beach time. It did not help that the rain continued all week, until this morning. And this bout of sunshine is not supposed to last...according to the weather report, thunderstorms should be reappearing this afternoon, with rain continuing on through tomorrow.

Living back up north, all those old weather-related expressions I learned as a child have been coming back to me. For example, the one that March "comes in like a Lion, and goes out like a Lamb."

That one certainly held true this year! Our March came in like a lion, with our biggest snowstorm of the year at the tail-end of my mom's visit the first weekend in March:

Photo of our view (or what's left of it through the heavy snow) taken on March 1, 2009

Our March ended, however, with warm temperatures and sunshine. We were taking Achilles to the dog park for the first time in months, and even enjoying a picnic lunch by the river. This photo was taken on March 28 (Heather's birthday!) after we enjoyed a nice lunch outdoors:

The Intrepid on the Hudson River - look at the beautiful blue sky!

Quite the difference, no?

So, since March followed its given expression so nicely, I expected April and May to follow suit with "April showers bring May flowers." So far, April showers have mostly brought May showers. Okay, okay, the April showers did also bring the flowers. But I wish that now they would go on their way and leave me with some sun with which to enjoy said flowers.

I did some walking around the city yesterday (after the afternoon's torrential downpour - which I got caught in while taking Achilles outside - calmed down into just a steady rain), and I stopped to take some pictures of the May flowers. The Easter lilies that lined Rockefeller Center's Promenade have now been replaced with lovely tulips, for example.

Tulips and fountain on the Promenade

And as I got closer to home, I passed a flower stand on the street, where I saw the best sign of spring of all: LILACS.

Lovely lilacs!

Lilacs are my favorite flower (with gardenias as a close second). I love lilacs. When I lived in Cleveland, we had lilac bushes in our backyard. My friend Megan, who also shares my lilac love, and I would sit behind the lilac bushes as they bloomed and just enjoy. We even talked about having lilac weddings someday, with us as the brides carrying purple lilacs with our white dresses, and the bridesmaids wearing purple dresses and carrying white lilacs. Oh, imagine the fragrance such a wedding would have. As happy as I was to take the picture above, I wish I could have photographed the scent for you. So wonderful.

Lilacs don't grow in Florida, but I was able to make do with the beautiful fragrance of gardenias during my time in the south. And gardenias do smell absolutely heavenly. But now, my friends, I'm back in lilac land. In Central Park, there is a big cluster of lilac bushes on Lilac Walk. Again, if this rain can stay away for an afternoon, I plan to take a blanket and a book and spend a day sitting behind the lilac bushes like I used to do. It will be glorious. Go away, rain!

I should say that I know all of you Floridians are in need of rain. I'm sorry to be complaining about something that you need so badly. Trust me - if I could arrange to send it your way for a while, I certainly would. I'll see what I can do about that.

In the meantime, I'll get good use out of my rain boots, keep my umbrella handy, and hope this weather brightens up before the lilacs finish blooming!