Will It Rain?

It seems like it's been a long time since we had a good rain. We had less than 3 inches of rain in May, which is less than average, and it's been several weeks since we got more than a tenth of an inch of rain. Yesterday, we got the usual wind and clouds but only enough rain to make the ground damp, perhaps a 20th of an inch -- not enough to water any of the many plants and trees that I've planted this spring. Perhaps I should do a rain dance?

Another reason we need rain is to refill my pond. In the past, I've filled it when it gets low by running a hose out from the house from the treated water system, since the outside, untreated water is filled with iron, which precipitates to the top of the pond and looks brown and ugly. But the guy who installed our water treatment equipment scolded me about doing that; it's too much for the system. I wasn't sure how I would be able to add water to the pond, but then I had an idea: I ran a corrugated pipe from our garage downspout into the pond when it rained this spring, and it added a couple of inches of water. Here are some photos of my pond-filling system:

The corrugated pipe can be attached to our garage downspout and run into the pond. The ground doesn't slope downward the entire distance, so when the rain is finished, I have to lift up the pipe to force the water to empty into the pond, but it's not difficult and a lot of water comes out, so it's pretty satisfying to do it. But it must rain first! 

The connection to the downspout. I need to prop up the pipe so that it
doesn't disconnect when it gets heavy with water. It may look jerry-rigged,
but it gets the job done.

Storm clouds brewing... will they bring rain? (I laid down the benches in anticipation of winds, so they don't end up in the pond, again...).

Will this be a third drought summer? Or will some rain help us out? Here's hoping.... Thanks for reading! -Beth