We need more rain

We need more rain if the Iroquois River is to continue breaking the daily flow records. It easily surpassed the record on Sunday, beating the 1290 cubic feet per second set in 1968. The river was dropping on Sunday and was a bit below 1900 cubic feet per second late in the day. Today the record is 1160 cfs also set in 1968. As I write this it is at 1660 cubic feet per second but it is falling rather fast. The river started the day just a bit under 13.5 feet and it looks like it will end the day under 12.5 feet.

If you get near the water that has not yet drained, you may see a lot of movement. There are frogs and tadpoles and little fish in it. Many will get stranded, die, and add to the stench that the water already has. As the water recedes, it leaves behind muck, like that covering the roads and grass in Weston Cemetery. The bottom part of the picture looks like it was taken with black and white film. (Some of you are probably too young to remember film, much less black and white film.)

 I noticed a flower that I had not seen before growing in my flowers. It is swamp milkweed. I must have planted it a few years ago and did not realize until now that it actually grew. It is a milkweed that does not look like a milkweed, though the shape of its flowers gives it away. It has been a good year for it with all the rain. I wonder how it will do in drier years.

 Everything is green. The wild raspberries are ripening. I like the taste but do not care for the many little seeds the berries have. If you look carefully, you will see another sign of summer. Can you see the Japanese beetle in the picture? They are back.