Ah, the promised rain has begun. Hooray! Of course, I hope the storm is not fierce over the next couple of days. But we sure do need a soaking rain. We had a wet, lush spring. The gardens and lawn looked like something out of Southern Living when Emily and Sheldon were married on May 25. Since then, we've had little if any rain.

The one good thing about the drought we've been suffering this summer is that I haven't had to mow my grass since I got home from Tanzania in June. I hate to use a lawn mower. One reason is that the four most angry times in my life were all attempts to start a gasoline powered mower that refused to start the first 17 or 18 times I pulled the rope. The other reason is because a lawn mower is such a heavy polluter. (As a St. Stephen Earthkeeper, I pray forgiveness each time I cut my grass.)

A gasoline powered lawn mower spews the same amount of pollution into the air as 10 cars driven for the same amount of time! So, by the time I've finished cutting my grass, I've polluted the air as much as 10 cars driving to Richmond.

Did you see the little piece in this morning's paper, that lawn mower engines will be required to produce 35% fewer pollutants by 2011? Well, it's something. It's a shame that it takes three years of lead time before such a change can be implemented. With the new standards, if I get a new lawn mower, then I'll only pollute the air as much as 6.5 cars driving to Richmond.