Measuring the rain

For over ten years now, I've had a rain gauge in the back yard. Ken and I dutifully (more or less) record each day's precipitation and I keep a spreadsheet that dates back to October 2004. It's one of those things that you have time to do when you're retired.

Six and a half millimeters (about a quarter of an inch) fell overnight Monday-Tuesday.

The actual gauges have come and gone. We've had this one for a few years now. It used to have a holder, but that broke, so now the gauge sits in a hole in the ground. That's why it looks dirty and marked up. But it works pretty well, as long as I remember to move it before I cut the grass. I haven't forgotten, yet.

When we first arrived here in 2003, our region was in a drought. We've noticed, and our records clearly show, that the annual rainfall since then has been steadily increasing. We are no longer in a drought. Interestingly, I think that the increase in mole activity is directly related to the increased rainfall. We barely had any moles the first few years, and now they're everywhere. Wetter ground is easier to burrow in, and I'm sure there are more worms and larvae to feed on than there used to be when it was drier. Is it wrong to hope for another drought cycle?