Rain Water solar term: Rain Water holds fragrance, spring rain sweetly moistens the earth

Since the Start of Spring, the rain has not stopped, and the whole Spring Festival was spent in rainy days. On the second day of the first lunar month, amid the misty drizzle, a rare heavy snow also arrived, with glistening snowflakes fluttering about, creating a truly spectacular natural scene, and everywhere in the rain and snow one could see figures playing and chasing one another. It is precisely the season of lingering spring rain; layer upon layer of mountains take the rain into their broad embrace to the fullest, trees and countless grasses absorb and store it layer by layer, and the overflowing rain naturally gathers, flows into mountain streams and gullies, and surges toward the reservoirs. The people of the island city have long suffered from years of water shortage, and watching the reservoir water rise by day and swell by night, with the water area constantly expanding and extending, is truly a joy. The first solar term after this year's Spring Festival is "Rain Water." Rain Water originally meant ice and snow melting into water. The lunar almanac says: "When the handle of the Big Dipper points to ren, it is the time of Rain Water; the east wind thaws, ice and snow all disperse and become water, and transform into rain, hence the name Rain Water." The rain of Rain Water falls softly to the ground, blending to create mist, with cold transformed within it, hazy and lingering; the water of Rain Water silently moistens the fields, and the scene gives rise to a faint green, all things vivid and flourishing. On the day of Rain Water, wind rose but there was no rain. A cold air mass from the north moved south and dispersed the many days of overcast and rainy weather, and the temperature dropped sharply as well; the original nighttime temperature of seven or eight degrees dropped to one or two degrees, with an even greater drop in the mountainous area of western Zhejiang, and in the coming days there will be little rain and clear skies. The flower buds in the orchid garden are already stirring, and when the temperature was slightly higher a few days ago, the tightly wrapped bud sheaths close to the body already showed signs of separating, and the plum-petalflower'swhite top was mostly exposed, like a winter plum ready to bloom,orchid's plum petal hence got its name. This year's winter has been very long and cold. The orchid exhibitions in various places scheduled before the New Year are about to arrive, and orchid friends preparing to exhibit, in order to catch the flowering period, have one after another adopted heating methods to letorchidsbloom at a specific time. This measure can fulfill people's wishes, but the orchids still conserving their strength are unwilling, because they follow nature's arrangements, quietly and calmly waiting for nature's spring; only in nature's spring will they fully release, displaying under the spring sun their rare fresh fragrance and enchanting splendor. During the Rain Water solar term, the greatest change is the capriciousness of the climate. Cold currents and warm air currents battle over the skies of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, with lingering rain and whistling cold wind alternating and blending, but abundant rain is its basic characteristic. At this time the orchid garden should pay attention to protection against cold, against rain, and against steaming, and relatively control water; when it clears up, attention should also be paid to ventilation. Ventilation means letting airflow pass above the orchid leaves, and wind must not act directly onorchid plants; this point is very important. Because there is much rain, the humidity in the garden is very high, and one can see mist turning into water vapor clouding over the sunlight panels. Looking closely at the orchids in the garden, some have already begun to push up their stems, some have already shed their bud sheaths; although no fully bloomingorchidshave yet been seen, the orchid garden is still filled with waves of fresh fragrance, calming the mind and refreshing the heart and lungs. Orchid growingpeople have quietly waited for a whole winter, and the hope in their hearts slowly grows with the passage of time. Orchids that have not rebloomed for several yearsfloweredhave produced flower buds, and the newly collected mountain orchids from last year and the expected grasses picked up in the market have also produced flower buds; waiting in the hazy uncertainty is a kind of happiness. Perhaps, on some morning or evening, the fragrance-bearing orchid about to bloom will open with peerless beauty according to one's heart's desire... (Yao Yuan 5999)