We've had a rainy day today, and the good news is - we didn't get snow! I think it's supposed to warm up a bit now we've had a couple of frosty nights, right after I got some of my garden planted, but even though it warmed up into the 40's, with the rain it still feels pretty cool. A good time to get inside work done, or just sit by the fire and read a book.

I was working outside yesterday and our cat, Woody, was feeling frisky. He likes to ride in the wheelbarrow, but when I don't have that out, he plays a stalking game only he understands. He will rush by me from behind when I have no idea he's in the vicinity and I admit I've been known to cuss at him from time to time for leaping past me out of nowhere. I've learned he's a menace in the garden if I'm pulling weeds. He lies in wait and then pounces when I pull a weed out of the ground, claws out, sometimes connecting with my fingers. He does not play gently. Besides that, he rolls in the dirt and tramples the flowers.

Yesterday he was climbing the apple trees like a wild cat. When he's like that it's best not to get come too close to him. He's in a playful mood, but the hunter comes out in him and all his wild instincts take over. My cuddly, devoted Woody becomes a fierce, unpredictable predator. I had the camera with me and got a couple of pictures as he was on the move cruising through the trees . . . Looks like he means business, doesn't he? Turns out he was just letting off excess energy, and by the time I came in for supper, he was ready to crash.

We don't know how Woody knows where either of us is in the house, but he definitely prefers to have a human open a door for him to using his own private "kitty door" in the basement. So most of the time during the day we see him like this at my office window, or hear a very loud knock at the kitchen door. We taught him to knock on the door when we first got him. Funny thing, though, he'll give the sap spout attached to a string that raps on the kitchen door a good whack and keep at it until we open the door, but can't seem to grasp the same arrangement on the front door. I guess we should be content he's learned to rap at all.

If we get rain for the next two or three days, we're probably going to have some flooding. May has been a wet month - nearly set a record - so perhaps with this stretch of rainy weather we'll have a new record. I don't imagine many of you are particularly interested in the amount of rainfall we get, but if you are, there's a map showing daily rain amounts. Go to www.cocorahs.org. Click on "Maps" on the top menu. You'll also find other interesting weather information there. You'll see that there is a weather station right at the border of Washington County and Caledonia - that's here. I am now a volunteer precipitation reporter - took the training a couple weeks ago and got my rain gauge set up yesterday, just in time for all this rain. I reported .07 inch this morning. I'm sure there will be lots more in the tube tomorrow. I'll be reporting snow depths when snow flies this winter. I guess it's the farmer in me, but I like to pay attention to the weather. It's important for lots of reasons, and we seem to always have plenty of variety, so this is a fun thing for me to do, and it gets me outside early every morning. I expect that could get old after a while, especially in the winter, but we'll see.

Joe's Pond Association members, don't forget the spring meeting on Saturday. I'll see you there, 10 o'clock, at the pavilion. The side curtains will be on, but it may still be pretty cool according the the forecast, so come prepared. Also remember if you haven't paid your dues yet, I'll be happy to receive them at the meeting. I'll have a few copies of the printed directory with me if you'd like one. It was updated last spring, but there are a few changes, and I can help you with those if you'd like. See you there.