The World Continues to Spin Change
It’s October now and fall is in full swing. Maple leaves are turning yellow, orange and red, birch and aspen revealing yellow gold. There’s a nip in the air. Clouds and rain showers will soon become the rule rather than the exception. The days are getting cooler and shorter; soon there won’t be many more of them in the 60s.
Are you a four seasons person? Do you love the crisp fall air or the fresh warmth of spring? The muted colors of autumn followed by spring’s bright bursts of renewal? Although it’s not much of a confession, I admit to being one of you. I look upon having grown up where there are four distinct seasons as a blessing. Yes, there are times I get very tired of constant rain and grey skies, but the flip side is experiencing the shoulder seasons, where weather changes are constant.
In the Pacific Northwest every day is different, making each one something new to be appreciated. sometimes even celebrated. Change here is an inevitable way of life, exhibited by what’s happening outdoors. And it makes those beautiful, calm sunny mornings very special. We’re not on an early morning walk because the sun will soon make being outside unbearable; we’re taking a stroll to admire a day, to begin with a joy of recognizing what is before us.
Just looking out the window at the trees and water gives me pause. The wind and current playing patterns across Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains either peeking through broken clouds or bursting forth in radiant splendor, the leaves brightly lit by sunshine or laying in muted shadow; everything is ever changing, ever different, always beautiful, always a respite from the rest of the world.
We all need those moments. They provide a perspective to what really matters. A mental reset to dump the extraneous nonsense from life and remind us of why we are here. To continue the work of getting better, of being better, and the satisfaction of making progress.
Four seasons gives us perspective. Yes, there are times nowadays when we escape the dreariness of winter for sunnier climes. But, those are brief and come with their own appreciation of sunlit skies and warm weather outdoor activities. It’s change! We are always reminded of that when we live in a place where the seasons are distinct.
The more we visit other places and the longer we reside here in Washington State, the more we realize how unique the climate and landscape are here. When it comes to weather, Western Washington is the epitome of eternal moderation. There are the occasional exceptional storms but, in general, it is a mild climate relatively devoid of extremes. Yet, we still have all the seasons. For the hardier of us, we have the mountains for snow, fresh and salt waters for year-round boating, wilderness for hunting and hiking. Snow only visits the lowlands a couple of times a year.
In the lowlands, summer temperatures rarely reach the 100s and winters rarely dip below 25 degrees. Western Washingtonians are so spoiled they tend to complain if summer temps reach 80. Oh, and did I mention humidity is mild with few pesty bugs. We can complain we don’t have more of this or less of that, but in the end the Northwest offers a wonderful balance of climate and seasonal changes.
If it sounds like I’m harping about change, and I suppose I am. I find when I visit places that generally have the same weather most of the time, I get bored. I know. That sounds really spoiled, but it’s true. Varying weather makes me change my thinking and what I’m doing. I don’t always like it, but it forces me to think about pretty much everything I’m doing or planning. It also makes me look forward to vacations or trips to other places, where I can ‘escape’ our constant change.
I know, I’m contradicting myself. Hey, I didn’t say I was always rational. I get tired of crummy weather just like the next person, and no place is perfect. There’s no escaping that everywhere is a mixed bag. We Pacific Northwesterners just seem to have a bigger bagful than most. Ultimately, I like that.
