First as a lovely thunderstorm—lots of flashing, lots of rumbling, and steady, moderate rain from 5 am until 10 am, with lawns and fields and woodlands giving a sigh of relief and soaking it all up—and thus drought averted. Then, this afternoon, as moisture in the form of humidity, thick as honey, thick as molasses.

When corn gets water stressed it rolls its leaves into tubes which point straight up, like lances aiming skyward. Yesterday most fields looked like that. Today the leaves are flat and spreading. The beets and squash in the garden here are full and lush, and far beyond any threat from weeds.