Karen Wils photo The frog loves the puddles.

ESCANABA — Rain is moody and unpredictable stuff.

Just ask Karl Bohnak or your favorite weather forecaster. Summer rain in the Upper Peninsula is temperamental at best and mostly feast or famine.

Just have a day off or plan an outdoor activity and rain is mostly to show up.

Run a farm, plant a garden or manage a forest and watch the droughts and dry spells hit.

Raindrops can be as gentle as kittens. Good old-fashioned all-day rains can pitter-patter like soft paws. This is my favorite kind of rain as it soaks the soil thoroughly.

Rain can also scream like a wild cougar cat. Summer storms can be violent.

As a child, I don’t ever recall seeing flash flooding in the U.P. Floods were something they had in the southern states. But now days it seems like our storms and winds are intensifying. Some streets in town now flood whenever there is a downpour.

Keeping our hiking trails at camp clear of wind falls seems to be more of a continuous job than it ever was before.

Thunder and lightning and refreshing rain cane be an awesome gift. This summer the places in Canada with forest fires would love a soaking rain.

Rain on the camp roof might dampen some people’s spirits but its music can inspire a different kind of dance. Reading, writing and journaling might be some indoor projects of the day.

Going for a hike in the rain isn’t all bad. The soggy grass and muddy ground makes for quiet footsteps. Sometimes you can get a closer look at wildlife on a drizzly day.

Frogs, toads and salamanders are easy to find in moist weather.

A whole world of colorful mushrooms and fungi bloom forth in the rainy season. A good pair of rubber boots and a rain coat and you are ready to go explore the wonderful wet world.

Late summer can bring on some warm humid days and nights. Gardeners want the tomatoes to ripen before the blights, powdery mildew and slugs take over.

Farmers want some dry days for making hay; fishermen want some rainy days to feed to rivers. But the rain is a fickle friend, so enjoy the scent of the fresh rain before another dry spell hits.