Rain!

It rained for the first time in over a month on August 1st.

To a lot of people, this is a typical summer... but not for us in the Northwest. 

That is what we call a drought, folks.

Don't get me wrong, I have been thoroughly enjoying this very rare, very hot summer, 

but this is the driest year on record here, as I believe has been the case in a lot of places.

Our green trees are thirsty, and we will be too if it doesn't keep raining! 

So, when we looked out our window that morning to find a dreary, wet, misty mess, 

there was nothing else we could think of than to pull out our rain boots and our rain coats and head for the forest.

We are fortunate to have wonderfully lush parks in and around Portland, so it didn't take us long.

Ramona was slowed down by the necessity to inspect every slug and point out every spider web. 

I rather enjoyed her hiking pace, actually,
as it allowed me to focus on breathing in the nostalgic smells of a forest floor drinking up a much-needed rainfall.

// I want to thank you for all of your sweet replies to my previous post.
I am simply blown away by the love and support I receive here and elsewhere on the web.
You all told me exactly what I needed to hear, 
and reaffirmed that there is a lot of good stuff and a lot of good people on here.
I'm not going anywhere. //

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