Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-20

| enthusiast to sit at q window on
rainy day, and watch the descent of
the millions and millions of drops, so
sheer that they seem to be forming
straight lines.
We have often wondered if the drops
do, really, constitute such straight lines
as they seem to be doing Often We
speak OF it raining in sheets" to give
| the same idea of perpendicularity.
So-called modernistic artists who
specialize on things i'll the triangular
and straight, might well study the ap-
pearance of falling rain, and give US
lamp shades. chairs and the like, in a
raindrop motif.
Whenever we think of rain-and we
do quite often, as any constant reader
| here will know-we recall the queer
performance of set of drops arriving
one after the other on the upper pane
from Mount Pleasant downward to the
! city proper, whatever that Is.
Never before had we seen raindrops
| act SO, nor do We ever expect to see
them perform so again. Each drop,
after it hit the upper pane, ran down
to the upper sill or division of the lower
window pane, and there ran along in a
straight line, as if it had been small
street car in its own right.
these round little watery cars, each
about an inch ahead of it's follower, and
each doomed to dissolution when it hit
the side of the sill.
Fascinated. we watched this allegory
all the way downtown; and parted
from tat Eleventh and F streets
with reluctance. 1t was the raindrop
performance of a lifetime.
X x X
But we started to praise the appear
ance of falling rain on bright green
grass. It adds positive glamour to it, a
sheen which justifies the adjective
"velvety." The sympathetic gardener
will revel in the positive eagerness with
which good lawn sops up the falling
rain. 1t is both food and drink to the
grass. No amount of fertilizer will do it
as much good as plenty OF rain.
Rhododendrons eat rain, too.
The rhodes" are peculiarly interest
ing plants. belonging to the class of
large -leaved evergreens. During cold
weather their leaves drcop, and take
en- the appearance of being cooked
Warm weather with rain in 1t rapidly
revives them. Even in the middle of
Winter the leaves gradually arise, and
become dark green again, and quite
glossy.
1t is a pleasure to watch them.
Rhodes" are tricky plants to raise,
and cannot be recommended for th2
average home grounds. They der /
an acid soil which it is Difficult. }
provide.
X X X X
Those who have lived in a house with
/, tin roof, ana then move into home
with roofing Of other material, especial
ly if there is full-sized attic, will
miss at first the old-time patter Of the
drops.
After awhile they will become &C
customed to the lack Of drumming,
and enjoy the new style of rain which
comes down seemingly so gently, mani
Testing its presence only by an occa-
sional slap against the window panes.
The wind swishes the boughs of the
great trees. The rain comes down
merrily If you look out in the dark,
you will see small pools cleaning in
the night. The wind is rising, and that
probably means the weather is growing
colder, and the rain will shortly stop.
1t is too much to expect an old-time
steady, beating rain. This is the
drought, and we must make the most
of such rains as we have.