It's been awhile since we had rain in the Chattanooga area.
We are accustomed to dry weather in late summer, of course. But despite hurricanes and other storms along areas of the East Coast, we are informed that just-completed August was Chattanooga's driest month since records were first kept in 1928.
Officially, we had only one one-hundredth of an inch of rain in August - and little or none is forecast till next week.
Homeowners have watched their lawns turn brown despite efforts to keep them watered artificially.
Nevertheless, we have reasons to be thankful.
Although some of our smaller streams are only trickling, we are well supplied with water from the big Tennessee River.
And rain undoubtedly will be coming our way soon. At which point, some of us may pine for clear skies and say, "Rain, rain, go away."