What did you do today?

[Nanno]

IT'S RAINING! IT'S RAINING, IT'S RAINING, IT'S RAINING!!!

We've been so sad and dry all summer, and that huge fire has been burning southwest of us since late June. Our pasture shriveled up and died sometime in May, and the hopeful shoots of grass that cautiously poked up in April were crunchy and brown within a few short weeks. Cracks appeared as the ground retreated under the parching sun and wind, and even the grasshoppers and flies died off before they could proliferate.

But a week ago Sunday we got a real gully-washer. Then yesterday we got a steady downfall for almost an hour, and today it's raining again. Our pastures took on a faint greenish tinge after the first downpour, and then last night after the rainstorm the grass popped out like it had been waiting just offstage for a grand appearance. As we walked on the new carpet of green, I saw that the grass blades were all still bent over because they had only just popped up from the damp soil. Today the blades unfurled while new, curled shoots poked up around them. It's like magic, and it smells magnificent outside.