It doesn’t rain much where I live.

I consider LA and south to be Southern California.

North of LA to San Francisco is Central Coast.

And North of SF is Northern California.

That said, I live on the Central Coast.

And where I live, there is a lot of fog and a lot of wind but not very much rain.

I happen to enjoy rain.

Quite a lot actually.

So I was extremely pleased to see it raining today.

I think one of the very best things is going to sleep, the sound of rain tapping against your window, wrapped up in a soft, heavy blanket.

The rain makes me calm.  It turns the ocean that stormy green-gray.  The waves start looking like white horses galloping across the water, their sea-foam manes tossing and scattering as they crest and roll away.

I like watching how it comes down from the smoky dark clouds and makes every inch of the water rough and wild.

Petrichor is listed as one of the 100 most beautiful words in the English language.

It is defined as the smell of rain on dry earth.

It is a recurring word in my favorite television show Doctor Who.

In series 6, Episode 4, “The Doctor’s Wife,” it is one of the passkey words the TARDIS sends to Rory Williams that allows him access to an archived control room.

The TARDIS describes petrichor as “the smell of dust after rain.”

I put that as my status on Facebook once.  My summer roommate Sonia pointed out, “If it’s dust after rain, wouldn’t that make it mud?”

I didn’t really know what to say about that.

But I do know it makes everything feel fresh, clean.

RAIN!