For those of you who don't know, I live in the Pacific Northwest where we have an average of 158 days of rain each year.  It's not really so bad.  You get used to having more moss that grass in your yard.  You learn of creative ways to kill off the slugs before they can consume your veggies - unless it's a really damp summer and said vegetables have begun rotting with the excessive moisture.   After all, one benefit is a stunning temperate rain forest to show for it.   We also have tons of waterfalls, lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and big puddles for my dog to romp in.  And after having a very unusual summer here, with record setting temperatures in the 90's and even hitting over 100 a few times, I think most of us are ready for the rain to return and green everything back up.

One thing I've always found amusing, is how many different words we have here for the rain.  It can sprinkle, mist, drizzle, pour,  downpour, spray, drop, splatter, shower.  We can have light rain, heavy rain, hard rain, torrential rain, soft rain, intermittent rain, or scattered showers.  It can be partially sunny, mostly rainy, at times misty.  I know there are tons more and of course any combination thereof but I think you get the point.  

It's really not the rain that does people in here.  We do actually get less than New York.  We do have an average of 226 days of cloudy skies and that's enough to occasionally depress even a Pollyanna.  But fret not - we have a saying here that's all too true - "if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes".  And when we have a moment of "temporary clearing," we really do have the bluest skies you'll ever see.