Rain and sun. And rain.

It rained hard last night.  It rained hard and the wind was just incredible and it was a typical winter night on the west coast.  A great night for a roaring fire in the wood stove and hot soup on the table.  

The rain was still pelting the skylights when Peter woke me up this morning and it sounded like it was going to rain all day long.  I had been planning to put the girls in the Chariot and run to Strong Start and I lamented that it looked like the rain was thwarting my plans.  Because although they would stay warm and dry in the stroller, I'd be soaked and I would still have to run home after our play time.  But as soon as I said that, the sky lightened up and the clouds thinned.  Within an hour the sun was blinding.  Oh, what a beautiful morning!

Two hours earlier, there were small rivers of rain running down the street.

So we were able to run after all and it was glorious; there's nothing like a morning run after a long, hard rain.  Trees dripped on us as we passed underneath and plumes of steam rose off wet streets warmed by the sun.  The air was damp and clean.  Conditions were just perfect.

"OK, we've arrived.  Get us outta here!"

Our run home was equally sunny and beautiful, but I was sucking wind by the time we had climbed the hills to our house.  As usual, it's never easy to run home after stopping for two hours and I always question my sanity as I huff and puff up that last hill.

It's darkened and clouded over now, and I know that we are in for a lot more rain, but I'm so glad I took full advantage of our few hours of reprieve.  When it comes to sunshine in Victoria during the winter, you have to strike while the iron is hot.