RAIN!

Finally. We have been having cool, cloudy weather for ages now. But no rain. It pretends to rain at times, but it is just enough to get the plants' leaves damp. Not even wet. You would think at least the greens would like this weather, but they really want more water than I've been giving them. Even the Chinese cabbage has bolted. Last year I harvested a beautiful head at the end of June. This should be the high season for lettuce, but it is a little bitter. Over the last month we have had less than 1/2" of rain here. The norm in our neck of the woods is about 4" for that length of time.

The weathermen keep telling us we will get rain. The weekly forecasts for the last few weeks have been cloudy and they call for rain about half the days. My weathermen lie. Or maybe it is just wishful thinking on their part. The rain by and large has passed either to the south or north of us, but never on us. Our little sliver of New England has been left out.

Then finally last night it rained. It poured. The plants are happy again. I water my vegetable garden but none of the rest of the garden. Not even my fruit garden. I figure they are all perennials. They ought to have deep roots. The plants were looking distinctly unhappy yesterday. I told them soon. I promise. Now they looks so happy.

I don't have a rain gauge in the garden, but I do have a bucket. I leave it outside and when I want to know how much it rained, I just look inside it. So far we have had about 1 1/4" of rain.

There is something about a well needed rain. My plants all look so content. I think the pea blossoms are even smiling.