Early report due to out of town trip. Still Moderately Dry. US Drought Monitor has our area in. “D1 - Moderate Drought”. From the SC Forestry app: 34 wildfires across the state today. We were under a SC Forestry Red Flag Fire Alert yesterday for low humidity and breezy winds. Local roadside swamps and ditches dry or nearly so. 0.06” total rain this week, leaving us still pretty dry. On Monday the Wateree River was running 3/4 full or a little more, and clear. Hiking at Poinsett State Park today showed dry leaf litter with dry ground immediately underneath. Park lake’s spillway running lower. See attached pictures: on 28 March only a few rock tops are visible. Today (9 April) quite a few more rocks are visible. The difference is also evident on one of the small streams between 28 March and 9 April (see photos). Not many squirrels visible in the park today, but many bumblebees buzzing about. The dogwoods have lost most of their blossoms, but holly and laurel are blooming. Saw one armadillo rooting through the leaves. Resurrection Ferns all grey, dry and curled. At home the birds and squirrels are still visiting the feeders. The Baltimore Orioles seem to have all departed. Hopefully they’ll visit in the Upstate on their way north. From Data Explorer: Compared to NOAA normals, we’re down 3.09” for the month and 7.63” for the year.