The rain overnight seems to have cleared the air of smoke, at least for the time being.  After I posted the picture of the fires in the State of Washington, I received one from Steve and Bev Allen (Meadow Ln.) that Bev had taken when we were experiencing a fair amount of haze from those fires.  It's a lovely shot and I am pleased to share it.

I measured 1.85 in. in my gauge this morning, but that may have had a little precipitation from Saturday, too.  I didn't remember to check the gauge until sometime around noon on Saturday, so then decided to just report both days today.  Last night was a pretty steady downpour and it was still raining hard when we were out around noon.  The water was bubbling out of the ground along the ditch by the mailboxes at the end of our driveway.  It was coming off the hillside, through the swampy area where it creates small brooks and then disappears underground again, following roots, the course of least resistance, and emerges like a spring bubbling out of the ground. 

I'm concerned for the pollywogs that were living in the pool created by a nearly plugged culvert at the end of our driveway.  The pool was nice and clear until all the rain muddied it up.  I expect the little creatures have been mostly washed out of there and are residing in Joe's Pond by now, but once the water clears, I'll be looking for them.
 
Yesterday we were in Waterford with Bill, Monika and the two grand girls.  Tangeni's birthday was actually July 5th. She had  a party at camp with some of her little friends, so yesterday we had another "party" just so her grandparents could enjoy watching her open gifts without a lot of confusion.  Here she is the "Snow Princess" as in "Dora the Explorer," changing each of us into various animals with her wand.  She's a huge Dora fan, and the cape/skirt, tiara and necklace were a big hit; but the box there were in, decorated with Dora characters, was her favorite - that's a cutout of Pegasus, the flying horse, she has in her left hand.  Fortunately, I had glued it loosely enough so it came off easily.  She kept it with her all afternoon, as she "read" her favorite books to us, played "Snow Princess," and ate her supper.  It reminded me of when her father was about her age and he seemed to like his birthday cards almost as much as the presents. I have to admit I had as much fun making the Dora stuff as she did playing with it.  I love being a grandma!