It has been raining all day. When I got home from work after hiking for four hours, I wished I could just get in the dryer to dry myself off. Willow, with her duck, beat me to it. Oh well, I wouldn't have fit anyway.

It was the wettest hike of the season so far. All of the trails had little chocolate brown rivulets rushing down them. Near the end of our hike, the kids were so wet that they were no longer trying to keep dry - they were laughing and splashing through the water like pre-schoolers. Of course, some of the kids were not quite as accepting of their fate. Most of us had fun though. After we got back, it started raining even harder.

It is still coming down as I type.

The rain sure brought the newts out in force though. We counted 35 on the hike today.