Raindrops on Roses ... errr .... Wheat

"Raindrops on wheat fields" just isn't as catchy as "Raindrops on roses" from the song in The Sound of Music. But rain was definitely among this weekend's "favorite things," as the song says.  Put all those raindrops together and they totaled 2.10 inches of moisture.

It was a timely rain for our 2016 wheat crop, which is "heading." That means it is producing wheat kernels. An old wives' tale - or, probably more accurately, an old farmers' tale - says that harvest will be 6 weeks after the wheat is headed. If so, it could be an early harvest this year, depending upon how much more rain we get and how warm it gets in the next few weeks.

 

The rain should help fill more kernels and make the plants grow a little taller. The yellowish-brown places in the field still show that the crop was stressed due to lack of moisture before this life-giving rain. Back to that folklore thing ... Wheat is said to have nine lives, kind of like cats. The rain will help, but it likely won't fully recover. We could definitely use more rain, but we're thankful for the moisture we did receive.

My lilacs lapped up the extra moisture, too.

I have been waiting several years to have lilacs in my yard again. After an unfortunate herbicide accident, I have been missing the fragrant bushes. Randy replanted some several years ago and they finally decided to bloom this year.

With the rain and lilacs, it smelled like springtime and was better than any perfume.

I am not much of a gardener, so I appreciate the flowering plants that return, year after year ... especially when "kissed" with a gentle, soaking rain.