Winter in July

We had an unseasonably strong storm yesterday and record rainfall in Seattle. The grass and the parched plants sure appreciated it, although it turned these daisies into a mess of floppy spaghetti.  You can see this garden bed is looking a bit bedraggled.

I can't believe we're already at that point in summer where the spent annual flowers and perennials need to be cut back.  I love August weather in the Pacific Northwest, but the biggest flower months are already past, except for dahlias and the late lilies.

A well-known side effect of aging: I'm constantly surprised lately at the way the months and years fly by. The summer holiday used to go on forever-- now another favorite season is over in the blink of an eye.

Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head,
Why did summer go so quickly?
Was it something that you said?

From the beautiful song, "The Windmills of Your Mind"

Well.  Speaking of mind-blowing, how about this photo taken in Winthrop yesterday?  You'd think it was January!   To add insult to injury, the Methow Valley had a violent storm with 50 mph wind, heavy rain and hail.

Last night Amanda said it's nice to be home, even though nothing in town is anywhere near back to normal.  But the good news is the largest fire is over 50% contained this morning. Hot dry weather returns with a vengeance next week, so we hope and pray the brave firefighters continue to make progress.

Oh yes, a correction on the map I posted yesterday.  These red spots are not necessarily structures burned, but hot spots.  Still, the final tally of damage is yet to be made.