There’s lots of it, this being winter on the Big Island.

The rain in Puna comes in many forms:

• Light moving rain – koʻiawe
• Fine windblown rain – lelehuna
• Chilly rain – ua ʻawa
• Rain spray – ehu
• Showery rain – ua nāulu
• Rain with large drops – ua hekili
• Slanting rain – ua hikiki’i

and many more …

{thanks to Ulukau Hawaiian Electronic Library}

The evening we arrived we had drenching downward sheets that suppressed all movement of air. The rain fell at a relentless pace all that night. It was so loud in the trees and on the roof that even the sounds of the coqui brigades in the jungle were drowned out.

We love the sound of the rain at night here at the house. Sitting up on this shelf of land at the edge of the jungle sometimes makes you feel exposed. But when the rain comes, especially if you’re in bed, it wraps the house and yard in a blanket of protection.

Rain is a welcome home.

Rain is nourishment and life and refreshment. Rain is water. It cleanses, it nurtures, and in the case of soil and housepaint it can erode. It is the antithesis of fire, which burns down the road in Pele’s belly, although rain could never extinguish that particular fire. Ultimately water is life. It is for this reason that scientists longingly search the universe for it.