During a recent weather pattern of substantial rain in our area, I realized just how much joy — and conversation — the simple rain gauge offers.
The “ding” on my cellphone announced the arrival of a text, accompanied by a photo, taken by my husband, of our garden rain gauge and its current rain measurement. Within minutes, a similar alert on the cellphone of my coworker alerted her to a message from her fiancé, along with a photo of his rain gauge and its rainfall total. It was a bonding moment for us.
Beyond their practical use for farmers, ranchers, gardeners and meteorologists, the rain gauge provides conversational material for family, friends, neighbors — and coworkers. Talk of rain totals can also bridge generational gaps.
Within 10 minutes of my husband’s text, he was on the phone with his dad to compare rainfall totals at his home about 5 miles away. Next came neighborhood rainfall comparisons. I imagine the conversations are similar to who caught the biggest or the most fish.
Rainfall is generally a safe topic between generations and with those you have little in common or don’t know well enough to discuss, well, pretty much anything else. It’s a conversation starter, safe from degenerating into an argument. “Great to get the rain” vs. “Who ya gonna vote for?” almost guarantees a more polite discussion.
My household has gone through more rain gauges than a 2-month-old goes through diapers in day. From basic analog models to wireless weather stations, we’ve kept the rain gauge industry in business for decades. The model we’ve settled on (and haven’t broken yet) is a jumbo-sized gauge with bright yellow markings on a clear tube. The red float makes it easy to read from afar — even when I’ve misplaced my reading glasses.
Here’s to hoping all of our rain gauges runneth over soon.
