It has not rained here since some time in early June. This has made the pollen a constant factor in the air, and mosquitoes a non-entity. I have been trying to keep the backyard watered but kind of given up on the front, which now wears patches of brown. I water my flower pots, and sit in the sunshine reading.

Sometime early this morning, after waking up at five with my husband’s alarm, I went back to sleep. I had some very odd dreams, which is typical for daybreak. In one of them I was outside and I noticed that it was raining. I was delighted, and looked at the puddles and the wet concrete with gratitude.

I woke again at seven and walked downstairs, had some coffee and watched a few minutes of an old movie. At around eight, I got to my feet and looked outside at the backyard. Everything was wet. The gutters were dripping. I know there had been no rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future, and when I checked the weather online, it still maintained that there was no chance of rain. But there it was in front of me. I walked outside to bring in the soggy yoga mat that was left on the porch.

Such a calm sense of relief when the rain comes after so many weeks. I know it won’t be much, and it won’t save the dead grass, but at least it might wash away some of the dust and pollen.