Stir-fry and sweet, sweet rain...

I was cooking supper yesterday, in a hurry, when the weirdest thing happened. Ten minutes before it was time to serve I preheated my wok and got out a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies. I said something to Rebekah, turned around, and my veggies were nowhere to be seen....

... So I searched, everywhere. The refrigerator, the freezer, the sink, the pantry, the dishwasher, the bathroom, every room in the house, under the pile of dishes in the sink - I looked absolutely everywhere but with no success. So we ate lasagna without veggies. Later, doing the dishes, while emptying the dishwasher, I opened the knife drawer to put away my tools. There they were! One bag of vegetables; done for; soggy and limp. Go figure!

RAIN!!!! This rain has been a huge refreshment for the Tampa Bay area. Plants, people, flower-beds - we're all enjoying the treat.

The best assessments say we've been in an extended drought for three to four years. This year - up until last week - we were well below 50% of expected rainfall, and the grass was literally crunchy underfoot.

Florida, of course, is so dense with vegetation (vegetation that expects a good dose of rain on a regular basis) that the effect of no rainfall to speak of, all year, has been devastating.

The past week and a half has witnessed a long series of deluges. It's rained somewhere in the area every single day. Here in Brandon/Valrico we've enjoyed heavy rainfall on six days and then a couple of days like Tuesday - overcast, breezy, 70 degree temperatures, and British-like misty rain off and on all day long. Now that's some refreshment.

So I tried to capture a little of the freshness on film. It's amazing how quickly the garden is prepared to perk up - one more reason our general xeriscape approach looks like the best plan for the future.

Here's an idea: If certain vegetation is not designed to grow in sandy soil with unpredictable rainfall, let's not plant it. Why waste millions of gallons of precious water on grass that was not supposed to grow here in the first place? I'm just saying.