Rain, rocks and snakes....

The house I live in was built using a good deal of stone. The heat the rock captures during the day and radiates back at night is a magnet for all sorts of interesting creatures especially in the winter. It is not unusual to walk out in the early morning and startle a family of deer who have been nesting up close to the house on cold nights, or to scatter fiesty little wrens and racoons when I walk out on the deck. The most interesting residents though are the snakes. Last summer investigating the loud complaining of the squirrels I discovered a 5 foot black snake leisurely returning to it's home next to the foundation despite the squirrels determined nipping at it's tail. Once years ago, I was walking in with my arms full of groceries across the stone courtyard and I stepped across what I thought was a black stick ,only to get in the house and realize it was really a huge black snake. That was a moment.

It has been raining steadily now for about a week. We are all trying to remain grateful because the drought has caused lake levels to fall drastically over the past two years. For the most part the rain is beautiful. It creates incredible foggy mornings and makes the woods come alive with moss and lichen. But what is also seems to be doing is waking up the snakes who have nested and hibernated around the foundation of the house. If you look carefully, you will see the snake hole entrance which is by the front door for heavens sake, and yes, that is it's homeowner!

Rain brings renewal but sometimes with a price. I am reminded of the Bible story of Noah. The great flood washed away a complete culture in order to begin again. Change can be painful and difficult. After days of gray skies and rain the little greeter at the local Wal-mart commented rather soulfully as she dried off my cart,

"It's needs to stop raining", to which I replied, "yes, it's starting to make us all feel what my friend Jordan calls 'serenely suicidal'." She laughed and so did I, but we both understood what Jordan meant. Sometimes what is most needed involves the washing away of things we would rather not let go of. It is hard to change, to put down, to forgive, to move on.

Long ago snakes did not enjoy such a maligned reputation. For all sorts of reasons I could write numerous term papers on, it has become associated with evil. Originally in cultures all across the world, it represented the power of the feminine life force. It signaled renewal, transformation, strength, growth. All sorts of powerful initiations of change. Maybe that is why it is such a frightening image. Perhaps something in us that needs to change, quivers at the reminder of what could happen?

The lake has risen 4 feet since Thanksgiving. That is so much rain. The creeks have reappeared after almost disappearing over the summer and fall. Some of the stranded boat docks are now inching closer to the water and the vast amounts of red shoreline visible have softened. Ultimately, we will all be blessed. There are so many gifts we don't perceive until later in the changes life brings to us. That thought reminds me of those wonderful lines from Omar Khayim: "let your bending in the archer's hand be with gladness, for as much as he loves the arrow that flies swift and far, so does he love also, the bow which is stable." It will all be worth it in the end.