{"id":1728,"date":"2011-07-26T09:02:20","date_gmt":"2011-07-26T14:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/backyardcity.wordpress.com\/?p=1728"},"modified":"2012-07-01T19:24:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-01T19:24:00","slug":"the-challenge-of-listening-to-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backyardcity.com\/Outdoor-Patio-Blog\/the-challenge-of-listening-to-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"The Challenge of Listening to Rain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Listen<\/p>\n

Rainfall is abundant lately in my part of the country, but summer rains\u00a0bring one of my favorite activities.\u00a0 Listening.\u00a0 Try it for yourself.\u00a0 The next time it rains at your house, go outside on your patio or deck, take a seat, and just listen.\u00a0 Listen to how different the\u00a0rain\u00a0sounds when it falls into\u00a0trees, onto roof shingles,\u00a0into small pools of water.\u00a0 Listen to distant thunder and\u00a0to birds as they continue with their discussions despite the rainfall.\u00a0 You might even hear something surprising if you pay close enough attention to the sounds surrounding you.\u00a0\u00a0There’s music in a rain shower, if you allow yourself to hear it.<\/p>\n

Listening\u00a0is actually harder than it sounds.\u00a0 We often keep ourselves so busy with activity that simply sitting and listening is a real challenge.\u00a0 Isn’t there something else we should be doing?\u00a0 If it makes you feel better, take a book outside with you, or your laptop.\u00a0 Just be sure to keep one ear open to hear the rain and all that comes with it.<\/p>\n

Having said all of this, I’m not suggesting that you choose an unsheltered location outdoors and get soaked through.\u00a0 That’s certainly an option, but it’s not one that I choose.\u00a0 My preference is to find a comfy chair tucked safely and dryly underneath the retractable awning<\/a> that my husband so graciously installed over our deck last year.\u00a0 It provides plenty of protection so that I can enjoy the sounds of summer rain without getting wet myself.\u00a0 Even better, the sound of raindrops on top of the awning adds\u00a0another layer of “music” to the symphony nature produces with each summer rain shower.<\/p>\n

When it comes down to it, though, it doesn’t matter if you listen from underneath a protective shelter or if you listen while getting soaked to your skin.\u00a0 What’s important is the act of listening itself.\u00a0 See if you can do it.\u00a0 Start with five minutes and do nothing but sit and listen to the rain.\u00a0\u00a0You just might get hooked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rainfall is abundant lately in my part of the country, but summer rains\u00a0bring one of my favorite activities.\u00a0 Listening.\u00a0 Try it for yourself.\u00a0 The next time it rains at your house, go outside on your patio or deck, take a seat, and just listen.\u00a0 Listen to how different the\u00a0rain\u00a0sounds when it falls into\u00a0trees, onto roof shingles,\u00a0into small pools of water.\u00a0 Listen to distant thunder and\u00a0to … Continue reading The Challenge of Listening to Rain<\/span> »<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16,19],"tags":[37,445],"class_list":["post-1728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-outdoor-living-spaces-2","category-shade-solutions","tag-awnings","tag-retractable-awnings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Nnyf-rS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1464,"url":"https:\/\/www.backyardcity.com\/Outdoor-Patio-Blog\/how-to-thrill-the-thrifty-and-excite-the-environmentalist-at-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":1728,"position":0},"title":"How to Thrill the Thrifty and Excite the Environmentalist at Home","author":"Sara May","date":"February 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanks to a furry little friend, I happen to know that spring is coming a little early this year.\u00a0\u00a0The coming of spring means the coming of rain...and lots of it, depending on your locale.\u00a0 You don't have to be a gardener or conservationist like me\u00a0to see the benefits of capturing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Environmentally Friendly Ideas"","block_context":{"text":"Environmentally Friendly Ideas","link":"https:\/\/www.backyardcity.com\/Outdoor-Patio-Blog\/category\/environmentally-friendly-ideas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Garden Rain Barrel - 60 Gallon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.backyardcity.com\/Images\/SSI\/RB6000-Rain-Barrel-Closed-Large.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2835,"url":"https:\/\/www.backyardcity.com\/Outdoor-Patio-Blog\/retractable-awnings\/","url_meta":{"origin":1728,"position":1},"title":"Retractable Awnings","author":"BYC Temp Admin","date":"February 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Making the Best Choice for Outdoor Shade Retractable awnings for decks, porches, and patios offer an ideal solution for outdoor shade. 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