Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven with repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.
~From SUMMER SUN, by Robert Louis Stevenson

The round, golden face of the great sun began flooding our prairie with its wide showers of intensely relentless rays after a sweet spell early in July when we were blessed with a good amount of rain and cooler temps for several days.  The sizzling siege has since raged on until this afternoon when at last its fever broke from a north wind that brought in some rain and dropped the temps below the century mark.  The landscape quickly soaked up what there was of the precious liquid, so quick in fact that things seemed discernibly greener within minutes.  There were no high winds nor long, torrential downpours, just a couple of bursts of moderately heavy rain.  And now, even though there are household chores needing to be done, I find myself sitting, watching, and waiting for yet another round of what my ears have been longing to hear and what my eyes relish seeing.  The temperature has fallen to 80, and the long term forecasters are predicting the possibility that our highs may be under a 100 the rest of the month.  What a blessing that would be!  Praise God that our need is again met by His mercy and grace.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. . .  ~2 Corinthians 1:3  ✝