I just made a life-changing discovery.

I googled “rain sounds” and discovered a smorgasbord of recordings of falling water coming from behind my computer screen. I keep thinking I need to grab an umbrella to keep my keyboard dry.

I have loved rain ever since I saw Gene Kelly dancing during a rainstorm in the old movie “Singin’ in the Rain.” If I could dance like that you can be assured that I wouldn’t have wasted my time doing silly things like studying for an animal science degree. Dancing with Debbie Reynolds would certainly be more fun than writing a master’s thesis.

I’ve never been so relaxed while writing. I’m beginning to realize that writing in the rain is not the same as singing in the rain. I’m so laid back that I’m about to go to sleep. I’m going to see if I can add some thunder to keep me awake. I did it! Now, there’s both thunder and rain coming at me from somewhere in the computer cloud.

This is the time of year when farmers become obsessed by the weather. Corn plants are beginning to grow so they need sunshine and rain. From the farmers’ view, if they need sunshine it rains. If they need rain the sun beats down for days and days.

Making a good hay crop is dependent on the capriciousness of the elements. Not just rain but also wind. This year we’ve had enough wind to blow over some of the best hay crops. There’s a name for what happens when wind blows down a hay crop — lodging. My computer’s copilot says, “lodging is the bending or collapse of stems or roots, causing the plant to fall from its upright position which can reduce growth, yield and nutrient quality.”

My definition is that lodging turns the potential hay crop into a mess.

During my life, scientists have made discoveries that have dramatically changed plants. Field corn yields have tripled since I helped Daddy pick corn by hand. We would pull the ear, shuck it then throw it into a buckboard being pulled by a mule. By working hard, we could pick a couple or three acres a day. Modern combines can pick, shuck and shell 200 acres a day while monitoring the moisture to make sure it is ready for storage.

I remember Daddy saying that water from rain is better for plants than watering by hand. As usual, science has proven Daddy was right. The smart folks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have shown that rice seeds germinate faster due to the sound waves produced when rain falls on them. The same sound that puts me to sleep stimulates the seeds to wake up and start growing.

Here’s an idea. I’m going to take my computer out to the garden to see if the sound of rain makes okra seeds start growing. Our beans, cucumbers and squash are growing just fine but half of our okra has not sprouted. I had thought that maybe we hadn’t planted during the correct moon sign but now I’m thinking we didn’t have the right sounds. I’m going to shower our recalcitrant okra with the joyful noise of Gene Kelly singin’ and dancing in the rain.

— Gill, an Elk Valley Times columnist, is also an author. His books can be found on Amazon and other online book websites, as well as in stores in Fayetteville and Petersburg.