Where did I put my sunglasses?

Wow, after almost two weeks with very little sun and lots of rain (over 20 inches to be exact), the sun finally decided to come out. I woke up yesterday morning and announced to anyone listening, "the sun's out!" My gardens were looking so bad from the constant pounding of rain. They didn't have the opportunity to dry out at all before the next round of storms would come through. When it wasn't raining it was so humid that everything stayed wet - for two weeks! I didn't have any flooding, but many people did. Record floods. When I drive out in the country and see the washed out roads and crop damage, I consider myself fortunate to live on high ground. It is amazing the damage flash floods will do.
As I walked around my gardens today to access the "conditions" I was pleased to see several shoots of Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) popping up through the weedy mess that is my new prairie garden. There is hope yet for that 50'x20' experiment! Plus, as everything else is starting to look summer weary and washed out (in more ways than one) my New England Asters (Aster novae-angliae) and Smooth Asters (Aster laevis) are starting to bud out...something fresh and new to look forward to.