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It’s hard to remind myself of the water-conservation aspect of growing on rainy days such as today.

It makes me reflect on what it
must feel like to be told in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
where I grew up, that you have to cut back sharply on water use or
there won’t be any clean drinking water. Iowans have been soaked by
rains for weeks and rivers, already flooding, continue to rise. Cedar
Rapids was always proud that it was the one city that never floods, so
I was shocked by the photos in the New York Times 14
June. City Hall is well under, as is the Quaker Oats plant I passed on the way to school. The thought of that much soggy uncooked oats is not appealing, but far worse is the thought of such waste in a world where food supplies are desperately short.

I visited the site of Don, an Iowa City garden blogger who always has
extraordinary photos from his large garden and beautiful wooded hillside near Iowa City. His flood
pictures are frightening but in the midst of them is a wonderful set of
shots of a drenched baby hedgehog. In a year when nature is wreaking such havoc it’s heartening to see how little creatures do their best to cope. Be sure to visit his garden for a special perspective on the weather news.

Photo: these aphid-free roses, covered with healthy buds, had millions of the destructive little creatures two weeks ago but I held my breath and waited while ants and ladybugs went in and cleaned up. Bravo, little garden helpers, you did your job!

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