Have you had any rain? It’s the first question whenever you meet anyone. A good question in this area east of Georgian Bay, where weather can vary dramatically from one concession road to the next. What a year this has been – the crazy early spring, the frost in May that devastated orchards, and now the drought; the last rain I recorded here was overnight July 7, which was welcome but not huge. There were two instances in the last week of a few drops for a minute or two, but the last significant rain I took note of was in early June – three consecutive days. Two days ago, 20 kilometres away at the south end of the township, I watched rain come down in sheets – for 10 minutes. Within an hour, puddles had disappeared and everything was dry, dry, dry. Not so much as a drop had fallen back here.

UPDATED WITH LOCATION

Next Saturday I and my friends Sandy Agnew and Lynne Melnyk will be selling native plants at the Eco Garden in Penetanguishene.

To Tiny Marsh yesterday with my friend Jennifer to monitor breeding birds by playing a recording of a few key species at four locations. Got there at 6:30, we worked till 8:30ish, getting a few interesting call-backs. Then we walked out on the dyke because Jennifer wanted to see if loons are still in the Marsh. On the way I noticed a black bird flapping in the reeds and at the same time Jennifer was pulled up short by something around her ankles. It was a really strong green fishing line. We followed it back and found a juvenile grackle desperately trying to escape.