Rain, rain, don't go away

It is raining in Montana today. This is how dark my kitchen was at 9:30 this morning (the sun rose around 5:45 this morning).

Growing up in the Midwest, I loved, and anticipated, the storms we would have each summer. Thunder, lighting, and torrential downpours always thrilled me! In Montana, however, these tantrums of nature are rare occurrences.... until this year.

We have actually enjoyed a cool summer and more precipitation (and storms) than I have seen in the 12 years I have lived in this area. While most of my neighbors groan when the clouds issue forth their torrents, I celebrate! Not just because I love the rain (though that is a big part of it) but also because the more rain we have, the less fires we endure.

Forest fires have been the staple of many summers here in this state. A few summers were so bad I could not even let my children play outside because the smoke was so thick and stifling. We all had to wear face masks.

This is not taken through a screen, the rain is really that heavy! My neighbors probably don't delight in heavy rain because, as you can see here, living on a mountain side our driveway acts as a canal through which all the rain uphill likes to drain.... right down into the neighbor's driveway! I am actually considering giving the men in my house a task: to build some sort of natural damn that can divert this flow of water and possibly save the neighbors from the pile up of sludge they get! (Yes, watering our lawn does the same thing to them.

Here you can barely see the ridge to the north of us! But doesn't my garden look happy to be getting so much attention?! Yes, bring on the rain :-)