I stretched and stood to relieve tension from hours bent at the computer putting together the finishing touches on a newsletter for the McNary National Wildlife Refuge. I squeezed my eye lids tightly to remove the monotony of the fixed target of the computer screen. Turning to the window expecting to simply extend my vision, I was treated to the most brilliant rainbow I had seen in months. The color spectrum was subtle in its changes and instantly my eyes followed the arch upward as it spread across the sky and plummeted back to the horizon. There was the most awesome presentation of nature. In that moment all the weariness in my body fled, replaced by the strength of wonder that never fails to rejuvenate my spirit.

No doubt the contrast of the colors against the solid slate gray of rain clouds that had plagued the sky all day made the colors more intense and the presentation more dramatic. I stood transfixed. And while I was overwhelmed, the colors faded until all was lost in a gently falling rain. I had the good sense to go inside to shut the rain away from my body but the rainbow was not so easily shut away from my mind. Science explained the refraction of colors and the crystals of minerals in the airborne water.

Should that hard and natural science cast a gloom on the awesome sight? No, it did not! The knowledge made the rainbow even more awesome. Understanding the why and how of the science of the rainbow did not diminish the excitement that flooded my weary mind and body. Nor did it diminish my appreciation of the rainbow and its timely appearance. Instead of a tiring day ending with discouraging fatigue, it ended with improved satisfaction of time well spent and a job well done.

Naomi Sherer