Mon 8/10 – Sun 8/23/26 rural Central Oregon High Desert – severely dry]          
There was 0.05” of rain – and nearby thunder– on Thu 8/13, a trace of rain on Fri 8/21 and 2 early mornings with a moderate .  NWS issued a Red Flag Warning in advance of the 8/13 weather system predicting “abundant lightning.”  The rain ended the most recent dry streak at 33 days; and the trace of rain was barely perceptible (I barely felt it) and lasted less than a minute.  
There were no wildfire smoke incursions and only one short-lived hint (a questionable one at that!) occasion of haze this period at this site.  This is utterly incredible considering the Crescent Butte Fire less than 10 miles away, and viewing/driving through smoke and haze in Bend, Redmond and Prineville 30 to 50 miles N and NE of here.  
At 87°F the average high temp for the last 2 weeks felt noticeably cooler than the previous several weeks – requiring less air conditioning than the prior month or so.  The average morning low was 34°F – higher than the prior period, but relatively normal here for this time of year.  
The dry status of the soil and plant life on the undeveloped terrain did not change; there was a slight greening of the low broadleaf weeds in the gravel driveway from the rain.  A few more honeybees and yellow jackets appeared, but observations of all other insects/bugs remained low – and some even declined.  The local bird and mammal wildlife populations started exhibiting relatively normal late summer movements and behaviors.