With a much needed 1.29” of rain this week, conditions have stabilized at moderately dry.  As of this morning, the Pascoag Reservoir is back up to 8’5” but is still about 8” below normal.  We still need rain.  Jet skis and boats have been out on the lake, but numbers seem to be much lower than in years past.  Not sure what’s driving it, but it’s been much quieter on the lake this year.  Day lilies have started to bloom and our hostas have buds that should bloom in the next week or so.  The garden requires constant watering and the lawn has gone dormant in most places.  Just before this week’s rain, the trails at Sprague Farm were bone dry and brooks and streams still.  All vernal pools were bone dry.  The rain should have helped but it will still be dry.  Hopefully some of the ticks dried up too.  We have a doe and 2 fawns on the island in front of our house.  Seeing fawns with the zoomies is a treat.  The hummingbirds are regular visitors to our feeder.  George Washington state park posted High for fire danger early this week but dropped to Low after the rain.  It will be interesting to see if it jumps back up with extreme heat predicted for a week from now.