Rain Sounds
Anatomy of rain on a metal roof. I’ve had two styles of metal roof while living in the Hill Country. My first roof was screw-down panels, a fairly typical old style roof. It was replaced recently by a standing seam roof with no exposed screws. Falling rain sounds essentially the same on both styles, a lovely patter of falling water on tin. The difference slips in when the rain is soft and the water gathers on the roof before sliding to the ground.
On the roof with screws there were small bubbling sounds as the water ran over and around the screws. If you’re into fluid mechanics, the screws were creating turbulence, and that made noise. The standing seam roof generates something entirely different, a soft whispering, whooshing sound as the water sheets and glides in a more or less laminar flow. It’s rather soothing, and I got to stand outside yesterday morning and hear it as a misty rain fell and I fell in love with my new roof.
I know that’s an odd thing to say, but it feels good being in love with my roof when it rains. It’s a little like being in love with the scent of rain and knowing it’s got a name, petrichor. Or loving the first amaryllis in the spring, or the hanging tassels of the oaks, or an open window on a cool morning. I think being in love with the small things, the little things, the unnoticed things, might be good for the soul. I know it is for mine. It brings me a contentment that has sometimes been hard to find in the hurly-burly of the modern world. And I guess that’s the thing about love and why, if you can find something or someone to love, you should.