Here comes the rain.

Today I was up a silver birch. The morning had been alternating between grey and clammy and occasionally brightening up with the sun almost pushing through a cataract of heavy mist. All the way to work, despite the threats, it had stayed dry and warm and on site it was commented “The weather could go either way today”.

When you work outside, the weather is an irrepressible companion, always with you - you can read it, try to gauge its mood, see it coming, prepare for it even, but you absolutely cannot avoid it. Today the weather dramatically changed its mood when I was at the top of the tree. I can’t climb in waterproofs - too hot, too restricting - I sweat so much I end up wet on the inside anyway which rather defeats the purpose. So I’m up this tree in my tee-shirt when the heavens opened and grey rain poured from the sky, ran down rooftops, filled gutters, turned lawns into ponds, roads into rivers, it gushed and splashed, soaked through my shirt and turned my cutting pants into a big full bath sponge clagged onto my legs. Just as Buddhists say “when you have no food, the best thing to do is have a fast day” and, I say when it rains, you best get used to the idea - you’re getting wet.