Today was a beautiful day weatherwise - sunny, very warm, nice breeze, and most rewarding of all NO RAIN! We are so soggy - there are brooks running across our lawn by the tractor garage and below the house. Fred got some of the lawn mowed, but it was way too wet for lots of it. It may have dried out a little today, but tomorrow there's a 60% chance of rain - some will be heavy, according to the forecast - and then on Thursday a 40% chance of more rain.

I have been watching our vegetable garden, hoping the seeds I planted a couple weeks ago would make it. A few peas have shown up, but I'll need to replant them. I guess the rainy weather did them in. The lettuce and radishes are doing fine, and I have a few carrot sprouts showing up. Today I got everything else planted except for tomato plants. I'll have to pick them up soon. I may try some peppers this year, too.

The black flies finally got to me even though I was pretty well drenched in "Off." Unfortunately, black flies will be here for at least another couple of months. I think they're more vicious in early spring, but they are around for most of the summer. Then there are mosquitoes. Not many yet, but experts say once the flood water has receded there will be stagnant water and that's the perfect breeding ground for those hungry mosquitoes.

I didn't know that black flies don't bite at night until I read that recently. I don't think mosquitoes make any such distinction. Black flies aren't known to carry disease, but lots of people are badly affected by the bites and, like me, develop itchy, hot swollen welts that last for several days and make you feel miserable all over. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, do carry disease - West Nile virus is one - so it's important to be careful and use some sort of repellant and be sure there's no stagnant water around your home.

We didn't have success getting our boathouse raised out of the water today. The lawn was too wet for the big crane to go out onto it. They might have been able to go out to the boathouse, but they were pretty sure they wouldn't be able to get back because the wheels would cut deeply into the soil and get mired. There isn't a wrecker around big enough to pull that monster crane out of a mud hole.

Several neighbors stopped by to see how we were doing, but nobody was more disappointed than we that they couldn't get the job done so repairs could begin on the boathouse. That's Bill and Diane Rossi who paddled down from their house to watch. We may have to literally build a road for the rig so it won't get mired. We aren't the only ones who would like to see a few dry days in a row - everyone trying to recover from last week's flash flood is hoping for a dry spell.

It's nice to be able to have the windows open. Our ornamental apple trees are in full bloom and so is our old lilac bush. I have a couple of newer lilacs, but they aren't blooming yet. The lilac is very fragrant; the apple trees not so much. If they were regular apple trees, they would smell nice, but the ornamentals just look pretty.

I have lots of Lily of the Valley that smell wonderful, and they are right below our living room windows so every now and then a whiff of their scent drifts in and reminds me of my childhood - I saved my pennies and sent away for a tiny sample bottle of Lily of the Valley perfume back when I was about 8 years old. It cost ten cents, and was worth every hard-earned penny.