After 11 days with no precipitation, we were definitely trending towards Mildly Dry; however, on Friday going into early Saturday we received 1.34" of rain that brought us back to Near Normal Conditions. Temperature highs this week have been in the 70's and 80's (F) and humidity levels were mostly in the comfortable range. Lawns had been drying out prior to the rain, but are now lush and growing again. Local woodlands that were flooded back in April are now inundated with mosquitoes that swarm in high numbers in the woods, voracious and aggressively biting even at mid-day. Ticks are also out and active now. Both of these critters are known to carry diseases: mosquito-borne West Nile virus has been detected in SW Michigan, and tick-borne Lyme's disease cases have been rising in Michigan in recent years. Local field crops seem to be planted and in the early growth stages.