Today’s forecast is full of hope. Rain on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The end of our long draught is nigh.

We have had very little rain since July. In the forest the ground is full of cracks big enough to stub a toe. Our pond is several feet lower than I have ever seen it.

Here it is, the last half of October, and days are still warm enough to lie on the back porch and soak in the sun. It’s like we’ve moved to Northern California.

This time, with so many days of rain in the near forecast, I’m more confident that I won’t open up the Weather App tomorrow and see all the forecast for rain evaporate and be replaced with sunny days. This time I think it will actually come true.

The maple is glorious this fall. I enjoy gathering the fallen leaves and using them to cover the trails. I’ll enjoy these last handful of sunny days and soak in as much son and color as possible.

Even though it has been so dry and warm this summer, I haven’t forgotten how wet the garden was this spring. This year as I plant garlic, I’m digging deep trenches between the rows and filling the trenches with gravel, pine cones, and covering them with straw. This way when it rains nonstop this spring, the water will have someplace to go and the garlic beds won’t be under standing water.

I can always count on Takuma to give me moral support whenever I am in the garden. Is he letting me know that I’m doing it right? That the trenches I’m digging are deep enough and that I’m spacing the garlic just right? Or is he thinking, “What the fuck are you doing?” Knowing dogs, I think it’s more the latter.