The (Almost Forgotten) Joys of Rain

I live in green Seattle, which gets 36 inches of rain a year.

I grew up in a small town called Hoquiam, a place that makes Seattle look dry. Hoquiam, in Grays Harbor County on the coast of Washington, is only a few miles from the rainiest spot in the 48 states--with something like 12 FEET (that's 144 inches) of rainfall a year. That spot, of course, is in the rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula, a place I truly love.

So I know rain.

But this has been an exceptionally warm July in Seattle, with temperatures in the 90s only a week or so ago, and I'd almost forgotten the joys of rain until this morning.

I slept until 11:30, lulled by the rain on the roof and the coolness of the air.

My garden flourished in the heat, but now it needs rain--the deep soaking that it gets from 12 hours or more of steadily falling rain. A hose or sprinkler can't provide that.

Then there is the character-building exercise of walking the dog in the rain. (And dealing with the wet dog after the walk.) This is next on my list of chores for the day.

Constant, my wanna-be service dog, is only 2, and he can't go a day without a walk without his behavior seriously deteriorating. So, as soon as I find my rain jacket, off we will go to Ravenna Park.

@ Jeanne Sather 2007.

Comments

[Sara]

Heh -- not a title I ever expected to see on a blog post by a Seattleite!

Constant is very, very cute. :)