Not even a trace of precipitation came this week. A little rain fell yesterday afternoon that will be included in next week's total (measured this morning, the start of the reporting period). Wildfire smoke was the major event of the week. Wildfires in Canada and northern Michigan created a thick plume of smoke that reached New England and even out to sea. Starting Tuesday afternoon the sky has been a sickly  yellow color. The smoke stayed aloft at first but reached ground level on some days - we could smell the smoke on those days. Air quality has been affected reaching at least USG on the AQI for fine particles (Particulate Matter). Closer to the fires, PM levels have reached the top of the scale! Mass DEP has had air quality alerts up for most of the week. We have been informed that these fires will be ongoing for months...
Rain barrel water has been put to good use this week keeping the flowers happy. Fresh water in the bird bath has been a resource for birds and other various critters, including a few insects. A highlight of the week was to see a Monarch butterfly in the pollenator garden. It was either one butterfly around all week or multiple ones - I had three sightings and I'll guess there were visits I didn't see. There have been a few other butterflies and multiple bees regularly out there. Yet there are still no night sounds from crickets or other insects. Such a puzzle...
The sky is blue today with a nice breeze, perfect weather to hang the clothes on the line to dry. Perhaps I'll spot a few more butterflies while I'm out there...