Except that the skies above are not clear again, which is okay: Rain, real rain like we used to have long ago! And we're now only in "severe" drought conditions, downgraded from "extreme" a couple of weeks ago, and "exceptional" about a month ago! (Here's a link that gives you that info: U.S. Drought Monitor)

Got over 2 inches last Friday, 1.13 inches yesterday, 1.17 so far today, and it's still raining. Standing water in low spots --- how wonderful! I'm actually throwing kitchen water down the drain. . . . It's so tempting to think that the drought is "busted," but alas, three years of below normal precipitation can't be corrected in a few weeks.

One of the local reservoirs is 120" below spillway; someone figured out it would take about four hurricane Camilles to make up this deficit. One of Roanoke's reservoirs is at 22% of capacity. Charlottesville has something like 200-plus days of water left.

But we are oh-so-happy to be getting this rain, and I do sympathize with our bretheren and sisteren out West, many of whom are still in exceptional or extreme drought. Hang in there. . . it's got to break some time.

---Margaret