I said we needed more rain.  We got it, although we didn’t get enough to break the drought.  Still, every little bit is more than welcome here in these parts.

In the same breath, I also mentioned that “[a]n entertaining side effect of [rain] is how these brief showers cause some of the birdseed to take root and grow.  What sprouts doesn’t last long.  Within a week, the little plants wither and die under the onslaught of the burning sun and lack of water.”

What I did not consider at the time was that we would have four consecutive days with rain (some days with more than others).  The result: birdseed is sprouting and not dying because there’s now plenty of moisture at the surface and the temperature has dropped significantly.  That and it was cloudy for a week, so they weren’t burned by the torrid sun.