The news these days always includes a story about the weather. I guess that only stands to reason. It’s universally a safe topic – or at least I use to think so.

This year the North East United States is complaining of cool temperatures and biblical rain. The Pacific North West is wilting under 100+ day after day. Here on the Eastern Shore its been a story of woe with a cool wet spring delaying crops followed but hazy hot and humid mid-summer drought.

Things changed a bit over the last 10 days with spots of heavy rain. "Spots" being a pivotal word as locals have reported over an inch of rain on one field and scant moisture just a mile or two away from the same storm.For the "row crops" – what the tomato farmers call corn, wheat, and soybeans – the rain is much needed but may have been too little too late for some fields. On the other side of the news, the tomato farmers are cursing the rain as it brought enough moisture to foster various pests and disease. It also hit just as the early harvest was taking place and caused tomatoes to burst as they swelled from the abundance of H2O. As far as tomato farmers are concerned, they’d be pleased as punch if it didn’t rain a drop from May through October.

So, two weeks ago the row croppers were ringing their hands and the tomato companies were bringing in a bumper crop. Today it’s the tomato harvest rotting in some fields and soybeans and corn starting to fill out. Two weeks from now is anybody’s guess. Surely the weathermen have no clue !