It’s officially fall on the calendar, and here in Oregon the weather is evolving into autumn. The air is brisker, the nights cooler and Pumpkin Spice Latte’s are showing up all over the place.
True Oregonians, as a rule, love this change. The dog days of August are too hot and wear us down. People are grouchy, the landscape looks fried and we are sick of being hot and sticky. We are ready for a change. We want rain and several days of it. You should witness the folks donning their outer wear, stopping their automatic sprinklers, dreaming of the day they can quit mowing their lawn. The joy is palpable. People walk around celebrating the drops falling on their heads. Umbrellas are rarely seen as we are so glad of the moisture hitting our skin.
People now have a reason to wear their beanies. Not that Portlanders need a reason. This choice of head covering is worn rain or shine, hot or cold. It can be 100 degrees outside and somewhere in the city there are beanies being sported.
Speaking of Pumpkin Spice Lattes …I don’t care for them myself. Too sweet. Oh, I know, a lot of the Pacific Northwest population live for the day they come out on the menu. This big seller has come to identify the start of the season. For myself, I live for the day the Peppermint Mocha comes out. Truly my favorite. Yes, I realized you can have them mix this up any time of the year, but I wait until it’s officially on the menu board. Sometimes waiting for something makes it that much sweeter.
With fall comes the rain. Sporadic sprinkles at first, greening up everything in sight. Then a little more, a little more, a lot more and suddenly it’s November and you need to get your hip boots resoled.
But, if we are lucky, we get to have an Indian summer. October can be a glorious month filled with crisp morning air, balmy afternoons and mild evenings. Or, it can be a beast and rain enough to float the Ark. Either way, we are excited with the weather.
And no matter what may transpire, Oregonians love fall. School starts up again, with #2 pencils and notebooks filling backpacks; plaid flannel shirts are purchased and windshield wipers are replaced.
I have a theory, though . . .Oregonians only like their weather for three days at a time. Then we want a change. It doesn’t matter if it’s sunny, fair, snowy or rainy, we can only take if for three days without starting to complain. We are also worriers. During the summer we worry there won’t be enough water; and during the winter we worry there won’t be enough snow to have an adequate snow pack for the summer. Or we worry about too much snow, a wet spring and flooding of our rivers. We Pacific North Westerners are hand wringers. From year to year we marvel at the precipitation, the dampness, the gray clouds, the rise of the rivers, you name it we are amazed. Newscasters stand out in the most inclement weather reporting on snow fall, floods, winds, and rains. And we are riveted to the small screen as if nothing like this has ever happened before.
I love living in this part of the world, where the weather changes with the seasons and green can be found everywhere. I love how we both celebrate and grumble about the weather. Long live the Pacific Northwest and all hail to the rubber boot industry.
magicalmess 