As I sit in the quiet of my office tonight watching the rain pound down on the sidewalk in front of the event center, I am in wonder.  Everything is wet from not only today, but from several rainfalls that varied from sprinkling to soaking in the past week.  The grass that makes up the lawn here is lush and a deep, deep green, and in need of a good mowing -- what a contrast to the brown, burnt, dead grass that adorned almost every yard in town a few weeks ago.

In fact, it was just about a month ago that I stood outside with my new boss, City Administrator Rebecca Davidson, lamenting the drought that surrounded us.  I stared at the barren ground and dispairingly declared, "I'm not sure it can even come back from this.."  Such was the state of not only the event center grass, but the grass in the parks, at city hall, and most private homes and businesses to boot.  We were looking at summer programs in the parks, our two rich and fun festivals and a host of other activities in the face of a terrible drought on top of broken spinkler heads and non-working water pumps. (And actually, considering the wildfires that have been ravaging homes and lives all around us, this is one of the luckier towns in the West!)

Yet, here we are.  Once again nature has righted itself and refreshing, life-giving rains have come to relieve the drought, not unlike how the long-awaited sunshine comes after a long storm.  What a blessing.  Something about the rain is bringing not only much-needed moisture, but energy and optimism as well.

Incidentally, I spent some time at Fossilfest this past weekend.  Talk about a lot of energy -- it was everywhere -- in the crowd, on stage with the performers, certainly in the participants and observers of the fun events like the Family Fun night in Diamondville and the water fights on Pine Avenue.  I stood for a while watching the teams aim their fire hoses, and found that my eyes kept drifting to all the people lining the streets, cheering, smiling, laughing -- what a great sight.  

In the afterglow of watching the Triangle come alive with activity, thanks to much hard work and many hours put in by countless volunteers, I got a chance to speak with Heidi Lively.  She and her staff and volunteers are in the throes of getting set up and ready to go for Oyster Ridge Music Festival.  They are busy and excited, and the excitement is infectious. It's going to be a great time, I think.

I hope many of you had a chance to enjoy Fossilfest, and I hope you are planning to attend Oyster Ridge Music Festival.  There's something about a small town festival -- seeing everyone in the park, enjoying the activities and greeting neighbors the way that only small community residents can.  

And in the meantime, take a moment or two to enjoy the glorious rainfall we have had as well as the renewal and rejuvenation it is bringing to our town.

Have a wonderful week, and thanks for stopping by the blog.