September rain

"Labors of the Months"

Tres Riches Heures Calendar

Be careful what you wish for. We had the strongest summer storm in Northwest history on Saturday, with wind gusts of 60-70 mph inland and an unbelievable 90 mph on the coast.  There was a lot of damage because the trees still have their leaves and roots are weakened by the drought.  We didn't lose power at our house, but about a half million people did around Puget Sound.


If this type of weather approached the East coast, people would run for their lives.  This curling low-pressure system looks like a hurricane, but it isn't. We have powerful storms in the Northwest occasionally, but we don't have true hurricanes for a number of meteorological reasons. In the southern ocean, it's a different story. My brother sent me this picture of storms stacked up in a row across the Pacific this week.

Mariner beware!

So ends the hottest and strangest summer in Seattle history. Since Saturday, it's been cooler than normal and on-and-off rain showers are slowly soaking into the parched landscape. It was too dry even for the weeds this summer, but they're waking up and the grass is already starting to get green again.  Amazing how quickly this happens.  I took this picture yesterday.

September is the favorite month of many people, myself included.  Along with the lovely changing season, in September we celebrate:

• Classical Music Month
• Hispanic Heritage Month
• Fall Hat Month
• International Square Dancing Month
• National Blueberry Popsicle Month
• National Courtesy Month
• National Piano Month
• Chicken Month
• Baby Safety Month
• Little League Month
• Honey Month
• Self Improvement Month
• Better Breakfast Month