Rain at Last

Missoula last had measurable precipitation on July 12, when we got .02 inches.  In the whole month of July there were only .09 inches of rain.  Normal for the month is 1.06", and we are very nearly 3 inches behind the year-to-date normal precipitation total of 8.86".  The ground has been cracking, and the wildfires have started, so the sound of rain on the roof today thrills us.  Here is rain on the rain chain that drains the roof gutter near the front door:
 
 








And here--at last--is rain on the serviceberry, lavender, and driveway:




"The gentle rain which waters my beans and keeps me in the house today is not drear and melancholy, but good for me too. Though it prevents my hoeing them, it is of far more worth than my hoeing. If it should continue so long as to cause the seeds to rot in the ground and destroy the potatoes in the low lands, it would still be good for the grass on the uplands, and, being good for the grass, it would be good for me."  Thoreau, "Solitude," Walden