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The hot, dry days of drought are gone. Looking back, it must have been quite a long drought, because I don't recall many rained-out games when my middle child played recreation baseball. My youngest is now working his way up the recreation league baseball ranks -- when it isn't pouring down rain, that is.

The rain is great for our newly established front garden. Through the draught years, the front lawn slowly dissipated into a large patch of dry dirt and hard clay surrounded by patches of weedy, brittle grass. It truly looked like a middle-aged, balding yard with stress issues.

Concluding that our patch of land did not provide a conducive environment for the growth of plush grass as well as feeling as if we should take a greener approach to gardening, we planted all sorts of vegetables, herbs and berries in and around the bald spot.

The rain has certainly helped all our plants and bushes take root. We actually have blueberries on the blueberry bush. We have little green tomatoes on our tomato plants. We have flowers on just about everything. A couple of years ago, I didn't have any tomatoes until late August. And the two that finally did emerge didn't ripen until Halloween.

Even the grass is growing. We have our weedy grass intentionally growing in two main patches. But thanks to the rain, it is encroaching upon our new produce beds. When we first began planting, we did not see grass becoming a weed problem. And then the rains came.

We borrowed Dad's mulch machine so we could clean up old leaves and twigs and place the natural mulch around plants to keep the weeds -- and now the rogue grass -- down, but the leaves and twigs have to be dry.

Every time we plan to run the mulch machine, it rains again. Just like every time we head out to the ball field it rains again. Although, the games aren't always immediately rained out. We are talking about baseball. As long as there is no thunder or lightening, and as long as the pitcher's mound isn't too drenched, they play.

Just last week, I didn't hear thunder and I didn't see lightening. The rain wasn't falling hard, but it was relatively steady. I knew it was time to gather my spectator gear. We were going to get most of the game in, if not all.

The most important piece of spectator equipment is the hooded rain poncho. It covers the head, arms and body. Under the hooded rain poncho, one can tolerate quite a bit of rain while cheering on young children and berating -- in the nicest way possible -- blind umpires.

An umbrella is also necessary. The umbrella deflects rain from your field of vision. The poncho-umbrella combination is imperative if you are going to enjoy a game of baseball in wet weather. Not only does the umbrella make it easier to see the game, it helps protect the bag of goodies stored under your chair.

The spectator must have a bag of goodies during a rainy game for two reasons. First, rainy games bring on thirst and hunger just like games played in the sunshine. However, getting up and walking to the concession stand in the rain is not possible. When you get up and walk over to the concession window, your chair becomes exposed. You return to a sopping wet chair. No one, including those protected by plastic ponchos, enjoys sitting in a puddle.

Therefore, if it looks as though it might rain, I like to stop by concessions before I set up my chair or bring snacks with me. Then, I can store my bag full of snacks and soft drinks under my chair, where it will be 87 percent protected from the rain.

Of course, I am also careful to set up my chair in an area with decent drainage. This ensures my bag of goodies is not sitting in a puddle. It also prevents my chair from sinking deep into the mud, which would slow me down when the game is finally called and it is time to pack up and head home.

As you can tell, I'm getting quite accustomed to sitting in the rain watching my youngest play baseball. This year, if they didn't play in the rain, they'd never finish the season. And I really don't mind the rain. Dressed in my poncho, holding my umbrella, I am not too hot. I am not getting sunburned. And, when we get home and peel off the wet clothes and slip into comfortable loungies, it is a great feeling to know that we still might pull out the win when we make up that last inning after the field has a chance to dry out.

Watching baseball in the rain is more fun than making and moving mulch around the yard. Though I do hope we get to the mulching before our newly motivated grass takes over the tomatoes and basil.

Micki Bare is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and the Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C., and author of the book, "Relative Expressions." She lives in Asheboro with her husband and three children. Her e-mail address is mickibare@inspiredscribe.com