At last glance the rain from yesterday and today is at 6/10ths with very gray skies. After Dennis had dug a trench next to our patio several days ago, I had an itch yesterday. I got out my bucket, some Dawn to make bubbles and my broom brush. Now that I knew there was an avenue for the extra water to run and not backwash onto the patio I began scrubbing off the exposed agate patio with all the grit and grim from last winter as well as since then. The shop vacuum was on hand to help with some of the rinse water, not wanting to overdue the trench. The cats and kittens were in the mix, checking it all out as there were a few angle worms that surfaced. The rain today was as good as a soft water final rinse could have been. The patio looks great. It is kind of like a clean car seems to ride better and a clean patio allows for very restful relaxation . . . that is when the sunshine comes out again.