“It sure rains a lot in the Northwest”.

“Don’t you know how rainy it is out there?”

“Wonder what its like with all the moisture?”

When I told folks that I was moving to the great Northwest, those were the responses. Rain. Lots of it. Won’t that be awful? After all, I have lived in arid high country for 15 years and that water might be the end of me.

After 6 weeks– not much of a sample– I can say that this eastern side of the northwest is not as rainy as the coastal side. People in those parts get all the rain first and up here in the mountains, we get less. Rain takes on a different character in every region. Sometimes it is harsh and unrelenting, at other times soft and refreshing.

So far, only a few days have been completely rainy. I am outside in the garden department many days, so I am up close and personal to weather patterns. The rain on those days is intermittent, not the steady deluge found further west. A few nights ago thunder clouds roared overhead, but nothig came from all the bellowing. Mostly we get delightful, surprise rain showers, with soft rain drops that splatter for 10 minutes before the clouds move on. The rain is a soaking rain, fully absorbed by the earth. Except for potholes, I don’t see any puddles of the kind that form on crusty arid soils. “Gulp”, the earth seems to say.

Last night, all snuggled in the camper and hoping for some sleep, a gentle soaker let loose overhead. I felt a chill as it fell and turned up the heater. Then, I just listened as the squall-ette  provided the earth with a cool drink. I felt another kind of sustenance too- comfort, peace, quietude. Just the soft big drops falling through the tree branches above.

Don’t knock the weather. If it didn’t change once in a while, nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation.

Surprising Rain Stats: