According to the Washington State Department of Ecology, our county is experiencing a drought emergency. There are three small water systems in our county that are operating on emergency status, and some area wells have run dry. Some small water systems, serving about 350 people, have had to have water trucked in in order to keep up domestic water availability. Our water system has put into effect a few conservation rules, but only restrictions on lawn watering, which are familiar to us from living in South Dakota. We have a small lawn, and we have allowed it to go dormant. We have used domestic water to water the flowers and vegetables, and are experiencing no distress at the present.

Severe drought conditions were brought on by early snowmelt, a lack of spring rain and low streamflows. Rainfall estimates are just 25% of normal in our county according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May and June this year were among the warmest and driest since 1895. A drought is declared when there is less than 75% of normal water supply available.

For us, the drought doesn’t seem all that unusual. We have lived most of our lives in the Dakotas, where low rainfall amounts were common. We’ve noticed some warmer temperatures, but we haven’t suffered with air conditioning available in our home. It gets cool in the evenings and we are able to open up the windows and cool the house effectively overnight. Many days we don’t need air conditioning at all, when we do, a couple of hours is all it takes.

We did notice with gratitude the simple gift of rain yesterday. It was raining lightly when we arose and rain continued off and on throughout the day. Around 4 pm it started to rain heavily and heavy rain continued for a couple of hours. By late evening the rain had stopped and the skies cleared. We saw a bit of blue sky before sundown.

Rain is such a wonderful gift. A shower like we had yesterday renews the plants in ways that no amount of water from the tap can. We took a walk in the rain. We have adapted to our new home enough to have good rain jackets. It felt good. It smelled good. It was downright blustery at the beach and although we walked a typical route for us, we didn’t linger at the beach and found ourselves facing away from the water most of the time because of the pelting rain.

One lesson we have learned about living in this part of the country is to keep fresh blades on the windshield wipers of our vehicles. The new wiper blades on our car were welcome yesterday as we were able to see without streaks on the windshield.

As refreshing as yesterday’s rain was, our county fire marshal warned that the amount of rain we received is not enough to restore already-low streamflows, and will not reduce the risk of wildfires. “In order for the burn ban to be lifted, the region will need several days, if not weeks, of rain and cooler temperatures.” The burn ban is expected to remaining effect until the end of September or early October.

We are newcomers to this place and don’t have enough experience to know what is usual and what is extreme. The temperatures have not felt extreme to us. We’ve lived in places where summer heat is higher than we have had here. However, the weather is generally a bit milder around here than what we have experienced in the time we’ve lived here. We are told, however, that what we are seeing this year is likely to become the new normal as climate change makes warm, dry summers more frequent and droughts more severe.

I am not much of a gardener. I have a few tomato plants, some sunflowers, and a couple of beds of dahlias, all of which are doing pretty well. I have plans to expand my growing of food crops in our yard including building up more beds for vegetables next year. The things I am growing seem to be doing well in the weather we have experienced. It simply is easier to grow plants here than it was in South Dakota. I’m sure that part of the reason is that I am not working as many hours at the church and so have more time to pay attention to the plants in the yard. But mostly, I suspect it has to do with having moved to a place where it rains more often. This year I installed a drip irrigation system for our backyard beds where the dahlias and tomatoes are growing. I have a diverter on one of the downspouts that fills up a rain barrel. The rain barrel, however, has been empty for at least a month. Yesterday should have added enough water to the rain barrel for several days of irrigation before I have to go back to using the hose attached to our home water system.

Another bonus to yesterday’s rain was that it fit right in with the day’s theme at our Creation Care camp, which was clouds. There were plenty of clouds to observe in the sky, though an overcast of stratus clouds isn’t as dramatic as blue skies with a few cirrus or cumulous clouds. Locals tell me that yesterday’s overcast is more typical of the weather around here than the weeks of sunny blue skies that we have experienced for much of the summer. The contrast of yesterday’s rain was just right to make the weather a topic of conversation among the children as they gathered at the church for a morning of songs, movement, art projects, and learning.

Today the theme is mountains. We live near the mountains, but it takes clear skies for us to see them. We’ve got plenty of pictures to look at if the day is overcast and the children are used to being able to see snow-capped mountains from their homes and schoolyards.

For now, the aromas of wet trees and plants are refreshing as they come in through our open windows. The air is cool and there is much for which to be grateful. Compared to many other places in the world, we are very fortunate. Blessings abound.