You may be drenched and sick of the rain, but take heart: The drought is officially over.

For the past several years, Bay Area residents have been seeing beige—shades of wheat, tan, and gold cloaking our hillsides; and sand where our bodies of water once were. But look out the window, kids: If you haven't yet noticed, things seem a lot more vibrant these days.

Wild flowers are blooming and, as a Mercury News photo story showed Thursday, the mountainsides have grown thick with green grass and the lakes are luring boaters in droves.

These pictures are worth a thousand words.