♫♪ Rain, rain, go away ♫♪

As I type those four little words on the screen I know it is only a matter of time before I’ll be on here begging readers to join me in performing a traditional rain dance in hopes of conjuring up a summer storm to offer much needed relief to all things green and growing. 

We Nashvillians are, understandably, a bit water-shy after last year’s horrific flood.  Just yesterday, to celebrate how far we have come since last year's disaster, our Mayor and other city dignitaries welcomed fellow Nashvillians into the beautiful Schermerhorn Symphony Center, located just blocks from the Cumberland river.  In fact, last May, when the rains stopped, the symphony hall found herself anchored in a 12-14 foot deep puddle of water; resulting in a 40 million dollar restoration effort to return to her former glory.  As the waters receded, Nashville rose to the challenge of putting its city back together; never imagining that almost exactly one year later we’d be again facing the same possibilities of flooding.  Throughout these rainy days we find ourselves repeatedly checking the radar on websites and television stations in hopes of seeing these storms either fizzle out or move out of our region completely.  It is disheartening.  

Preliminary rainfall numbers indicate 18 cooperative observation sites have broken their all-time record for April rainfall; with one city receiving 13.5 inches.  Some locations shattered their previous records by nearly 4 inches. 

With one of the soggiest Aprils on record, and the looming arrival of the 13-year cicadas, an amateur gardener like me has to wonder what effect all of this will have on the local plant-life.  Not to mention the local night-life!  Yet a few more reasons to be grateful that I’m a happily married woman!  Can you imagine trying to maintain an impressive hairdo in all this humidity?  Add to that the failed attempts at looking irresistible while trying to dodge an incoming frenzy of kamikaze cicada!  I'm no Sylvia Browne, but for some odd reason I see fewer outdoor weddings on the horizon!

A bug or two is acceptable.  A little rain is nice!  Watching the landscape morph from a lack-luster brown into a brilliant green with splashes of vibrant color as plants once in a stage or dormancy spring back to life, seems to even put a little pep in our step! But another 1,000 year flood and a plague of cicadas is an entirely different ballgame!

Thankfully, today the sky cleared and the sun shone brightly once again as our day was drawing to a close.  In honor of this, today I'll post a photo of our garden's newest edition:  "Sunny" - our Knock Out Rose - I will however mention that today, snuggled up at her side were two small mushrooms; thanks to all these damp conditions.   I'm happy to report that the forecast for the week to come is filled with sunshine and only two days with a 20% chance of showers.  Bring it on!