Kevin Irick wishes Mother Nature would make up her mind.

After an extremely dry summer, the Linwood-area farmer now has several fruit and vegetable crops soaked after about 8 inches of rain fell during the weekend.

“In one week’s time, we’ve had some things literally burning up to drowning,” he said. “It’s a swing of the pendulum from one extreme to the other.”

From Friday through Sunday, the Lawrence Municipal Airport received 5.35 inches of rain, which helped vault the area to 6.94 inches of rainfall this month – ahead of the August average of 3.81 inches.

But after a dry winter, spring and summer, Lawrence still remains 3.27 inches behind the one-year rainfall average, said Matt Sayers, 6News chief meteorologist.

“It was just a poor weather pattern for us in general, which was kind of predicted,” Sayers said.

As the jet stream breaks down near the end of summer, it typically brings more moisture, Sayers said. For the rest of the year, climatology experts are predicting near average temperatures and precipitation for the rest of the year, he said.

Kevin Irick, who lives northeast of Lawrence, tries to figure out how to get a load of melons out of a field of mud. Recent heavy rains on the heels of a dry spell have played havoc with Irick's crops.

Last weekend’s rainfall also caused Irick some trouble Tuesday morning. His tractor and trailer full of watermelons got stuck in the mud.

He said he hopes to drive it out today.

The heat played rough with Irick’s squash and tomatoes, and the abundant rainfall damaged his cantaloupe and green beans.

Ted Grinter, of Jim Grinter Farms near Reno in Leavenworth County, called the more than 6 inches of rain that fell there a mixed blessing.

He said it was too late to save a disappointing corn crop, but it will help with the soybean harvest in October and his field of sunflowers.

The wet fields have stopped Grinter from harvesting his corn for now, he said.

Farther south, Douglas County farmers and ranchers received less rain and welcomed the moisture for their soybeans and pastures.

Mark Wulfkuhle, president of Rocking H Ranch, west of Clinton Lake, said the recent 3 inches of rain relieved the operation from having to keep feeding hay to its cattle.

Their 600 acres of planted soybeans also needed a drink.

“It will add to our bushels quite a bit,” he said.

The dry conditions have already hurt the corn crop, including a field that yielded 207 bushels per acre two years ago compared with 55 bushels per acre this year, Wulfkuhle said.

“It was a perfect rain. An excellent rain,” said Mike Wintermantel, who farms and ranches west of the Baldwin Junction.

Most of the ground soaked up the 3 inches of precipitation, but it won’t stop corn picking the rest of the week, he said.

Irick, who is dealing with some ruined and water-logged produce, aims to still be ready for Saturday morning’s Farmers Market.

“I will definitely be there, but I just don’t know what all I will have,” he said.