“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 798 (Monday) – water and rain

Canal reflections.

The weather was nice and calm early in the day. It was warm outside and cold enough in the office that walking to City Hall in the heat was a pleasant opportunity to defrost. 

The afternoon journey took me over the canal, across a couple streets, and up the worn stone steps that people have climbed for over a hundred years. Today's mission was to pay the water bill. There are other ways to pay the bill, but paying in person is convenient when the destination is a block away and visible from the office window. The City Hall building is old and pretty with stained glass and wood and stone and it's library quiet inside, so it’s usually a pleasant visit.

On the way to City Hall, I was so busy looking at the reflections on the water in the canal that a few steps later, it was a surprise seeing there was a trolley parked on the trolley tracks. That’s Lowell. You just never know when you might walk into a trolley parked with it's nose protruding into the sidewalk. 

On the walk back to work, the clouds overhead grew darker and moodier. It made for nice textures, especially near the church built from stones dug to create the canal and the nearby trees with white flowers and leaves in shades of green.

Watch for parked trolleys.

The forecast called for rain. Mid-afternoon, the clouds continued getting darker and more dramatic, and suddenly the rain was slamming on the roof and the skylights of our office. It ended pretty quickly, but began again shortly thereafter. 

In a stroke of meteorological kindness, the rain stopped before it was time to walk to the car and the silver lining was not needing the umbrella.  A jacket would have been helpful, as the temperature felt like it had dropped along with the rain. Perhaps to make up for the previous dry weather that resulted in the dehydration of the pansies I forgot to water, it has rained several times since the afternoon. The car was parked in the covered garage during the afternoon free car wash, but hopefully, the  evening rain will rinse the pollen off. It really needs it.