Drought conditions throughout a huge swath of the United States have reached epic proportions.  Farmers growing corn and soybeans have been expressly affected.  In Eastern Ontario drought conditions have prevailed for far too long, but it's doubtful, other than for specific areas, that conditions are yet as dire as they are in the U.S.

That's small comfort to those affected, particularly the rural areas where the stress on the environment is most evident in the sight of trees visually suffering the effects of little-to-no ground moisture.  Trees already under stress as a result of age or insect predation, will be certain to succumb.  We can see almost daily the failing health of a few of the trees in our nearby ravine.

We have felt guilty about watering our garden pots, our garden, even our grass.  In most normal years we never water the grass.  This spring we ameliorated our grub-and-crow-ruined lawn with compost and grass seed and have nurtured it along with the sprinkler on several occasions.  These hot, dry weeks have spawned prime conditions for fires and forest fires are on the increase.

The city is also faced with a growing incidence of brush fires and the public is being warned to be very careful with the butts of their cigarettes.  The municipality is so concerned with the prospect of such fires that they are urging people, despite/because of the drought, to water their lawns, water their gardens and trees.

And last night, the hoped-for event of an all-night rain did become a reality.  Rain, at times very heavy, came down throughout the early morning hours to greet the morning-riser with the sight of foliage glistening wetly in the early morning sun.  This will not rescue the environment from its water-starved condition, but it will help. 

And if more does occur, we're all the more fortunate for it.