The rain is finally over, leaving cold gray skies in its wake. The storm gave us a little more than six inches of rain. After the month of drought, this moisture is very welcome.

I inspected the ironweed patch at the end of the garden and found that the plants had withstood the rain. Not one of them was knocked down, even though they stand on skinny, four foot stems.

The color of their flowers is remarkable. I’ve been letting the flowers go to seed for several years, so we now have several dozen plants in a big patch. When the sun returns, the insects will swarm all over them, sipping their abundant nectar.