Woodland Hikes

Rain finished for the day 
the dense grey cloud cover
obligingly parted to welcome blue
as the atmosphere brightened
and the sun blinked accommodatingly.
We could now discard thoughts of
raingear and embark on a woodland
hike to enjoy the airy lightness
of a rain-freshened landscape on
a summer's day. Halfway through
the ramble the faintest of
familiar sounds detected
unmistakably warning of 
skyward war drums when
thunder draws nigh, and we
shrugged with the  indifferent
assurance it was too far off
obviously headed in a direction
other than ours, so it was 
amazing that the clamour
ramped up so swiftly as though
to defy arrogance of unwarranted
assumptions. As we speeded our
progress, so did the storm our
eyes and ears tracked through 
the canopy shielding the
view of the sky, though the visage
of a fast-approaching armada
of darkly scowling clouds was
unmistakable. Doubling back
seemed an appealing remedy to
the prospect increasingly imminent
of a sodden passage of two
utterly drenched hikers set on
outrunning the oncoming storm.
Ah, the pleasures inherent in
the tender clasp of nature!