rain

after a sunny morning and a dry but thundery overcast afternoon, e few lightning blasts have opened up the sky into a full torrential downpour here in nasik. i know it's bad for the grapes (hey, Wil, you know the line), them in the midst of flowering here, but it smells absolutely gorgeous. andy and i went out onto the patio for a bit and watched a happy toad hop by one of the garden lights, soaking up the water so that he can pee on me again the next time i pick him up (he holds about 1/4 cup as far as i can tell, quite impressive.) the guesthouse lights keep going out and lightning flickers every minute or so. it's beautiful.
there was about a week in mumbai when there was lightning every evening across the bay, sometimes branching over 1/4 of the horizon and flickering every 30 seconds or more. we sat in our window, 7 stories up so with a good view, and watched. sometimes bats, which have 2 foot wingspans here, flew below us. if they get between you and a streetlight you can see right through their wings for a split second before they all but disappear again.