After a lengthy, extremely dry summer filled with excessive heat during which the record for number of days above 90F was broken, our rainy season seems to be off to an early start. Beginning last weekend, August 28, when a large storm blew into the Pacific Northwest, disrupting the Hood-to-Coast run, and forcing campers off the beach, causing power outages, tree limbs crashing into cars and homes, it has been unseasonably cool with rain nearly every day. It doesn’t always amount to much, mostly just wetting everything down a bit, but my lawn is greening up again (I never water it in the summer). It’s in the low 40s now in the mornings, and I’ve had to break out my boots and warm clothing. Forecasts call for temps back into the upper 80s, possibly even 90 by next weekend. Well, that could change (and probably will). We’ve already had fog in the mornings, which we don’t normally see until late October, and I think last year not until November.
Mostly I’m writing this for my own benefit to keep track of when the bad weather started this rainy season. Goddess knows we need the rain and cooler temps to help fight all the fires, so I’m not complaining. It’s just in a few months, or a couple years down the road I won’t remember when the summer ended and the rainy season began. Well, we’ll see how long this lasts.
But we have had some fabulous clouds as a result.
Here’s hoping for a wetter, cooler winter than we’ve had the last couple years. I’m sorry for people who struggle to pay heating bills, but we’re running out of resources to fight wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes.
I think I will go crochet some more hats.
D.D. SYRDAL 