Praying for rain

Like the Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore showing up when a hurricane is imminent, I worry that I’m becoming a harbinger of drought and wildfire.

My wife and I bought a place on Fort Peck Lake in Garfield County less than two years ago. Our first summer there was idyllic. There was plenty of moisture and the land stayed green until August. Cattle grazed on the abundant grass. Fall rains filled the stock tanks and snow covered the ground for months last winter.

Then spring arrived, the snow melted, and the expected rains never fell.

Drought set in and oppressive heat baked the country. Spring gree...