November Rain

It rained today.  It will rain a lot more in the coming days and weeks and months.  But it didn't rain lots.  Just long.

Seattle is known for rain, but we really don't get huge amounts.  What we get is long, slow, steady rain, and lots of gray days.  The Big Gray, we call it. 

I posted about sun breaks on Tuesday.  We had them again Wednesday and Thursday, and I had lots of time outside.  On Wednesday I got my 3.5 mile walk in the morning and then spent much of the day raking the leaves and debris off the lawn and mowing it.  On Thursday I worked outside at Jill's house, cutting up the shrubs I had removed earlier, and then attacking some other brush and overgrown bushes.  I cut everything up into small enough pieces to fit into the yard waste bin.  She'll have stacks ready to be loaded for pick up for the next several collection days.

I was happy to be working outside.  Being outside during the day helps me with the long dark evenings.

Today I thought I might be stuck indoors.  After breakfast with friends, I did some grocery shopping, read the paper over lunch, and did some accounting of the expenses so far for Jill's house.  I had planned a slow day, with some actual sitting and reading!  I got the pot roast browned and into the oven to braise and at about 2:45 I just needed to get outside.  It had been raining all day, a light, steady, dreary and cold rain.  But I decided I would put on rain gear and head out for a half hour anyway, just to get some outdoor time and exercise.

I was expecting to get wet.  It looked like it was raining.

 I dressed for getting wet.  But I didn't!

When I got over to the park, the park maintenance man was just finishing up.  He had mowed the lawns, probably for the last time until spring.  I waved to him, and he warned me not to walk in the woods. I could get hit by a tree.  

The wind was blustery but not that strong.  However I heeded his warning and walked laps around the open areas until the last time around.  

The wind had calmed down and all was well in the woods.

The sky got darker and darker, but not a drop of rain fell on me.  

I got my three and a half miles, felt refreshed, and still had time for some reading in my recliner before dinner.

November rain can be awful here.  45° dampness is penetrating.  But sometimes we luck out and it only looks like rain.  And when it does rain, we quote that song from Guns and Roses: "Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain."

Oh, and the pot roast was delicious!  With plenty of left overs.