Rain at last!

This year we have had very little rain and temperatures much higher than normal so spring has been over fairly quickly and summer has arrived about a month earlier than usual. This has meant that the roses have been flowering at the same time as the early clematis and wallflowers, the new tomato plants have shot up and the herbs are already filling their pots so I have been able to use them in the kitchen. I have also had to water the pots and garden so that the plants didn't die.
On Friday I picked up Amber, Eden's older sister, as she was going to spend the weekend with me because Eden was going to a party. We got home and as the evening went on the skies got very heavy with cloud but we didn't get any rain. Amber spoke to Sarah on the phone during the evening and they had had a thunderstorm where they live which is only about twenty five miles away.
When we went to bed it was still very warm so I left my bedroom window open and quite soon after I could hear the rain as it started. There is something good about the smell of warm rain after a long dry spell and the sound of water trickling down the drainpipe soon sent me off to sleep.
It rained steadily throughout the night and we had some prolonged showers on Saturday too. Not nearly enough really, but today I was surprised at how much some of the plants have grown after having a proper drink rather than the water from the tap!
We are supposed to have more showers this week but we have a long way to go to catch up and unless we get a lot more steady rain I think there could be shortages of some fruit and vegetables later in the year. The price of grains will also go up which has the knock on effect of increasing the prices of food. I'll have to start doing a few 'rain dances'!