Just grumbling in the rain

Outside, the pitiless rain fell, fell steadily, with a fierce malignity
that was all too human.
--W. Somerset Maugham

Winter in the Northwest Corner, 2016-17.  Some days it's cold.  Some days it's wet.  But usually, it's wet and cold.

Today, again, it's wet and cold -- raining steadily and 37 degrees at 10 a.m.

Sure, if you live in North Dakota, that's not cold.  And if you live in nations with monsoon seasons, our total inches of rain won't seem impressive.  But in Seattle, this has been the coldest winter since 1985, and February's total precipitation (8.85 inches) was nearly three times normal (3.63 inches).

I can recall winters when we've had cold spells with temperatures down below 10 degrees.  But those cold spells were relatively short-lived.  Our minimums this year have rarely been much below freezing.  And while our rain has been steady, it's rarely been torrential such as you might experience in the Northeast.

It hasn't been the extremes that have tried men's souls.  It's been the monotony.  Not that we never get any sun and blue sky -- we do.  But for short periods, before the rain and the clouds return.  And while some University kids persist in wearing shorts and t-shirts as soon as the temperatures work their way above 40, you can tell they don't really mean it.  And you suspect they aren't out-of-state students from California.

We did have one memorable day, when the sun shone brightly.  Yes, that would have been February 2.  The mythical and non-existent Northwest groundhog took one look at the sun and dove back underground.  Six more weeks of winter.

Those six weeks run out in another nine days.  It won't be too soon for me.