Well, shucks, folks. Here I am again. We finally are getting a break in the weather. It is supposed to last through Thursday before we have a 10% chance of rain. Actually, I am not complaining. We have very little rain here in Sequim. Our annual rainfall is less than 15 inches. That is less than they get in the Sacramento Valley where we moved from. Port Angeles is only 18 miles west of us and they get from 18 to 20 inches of rain per year. We have had a little snow - less than four inches but it has been quite cold - more so than we have seen in the past years we have lived here.

Almie and I will probably take a little ride this coming week to take in the scenery around us. We never tire of it. We get to live where other people pay to go for a vacation. Cool, huh?! We are less than 45 minutes to the top of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park and less than 10 minutes from the Strait of Juan de Fuca which connects Puget Sound with the Pacific Ocean. Sequim is about 70 miles (as the crow flies) from the north-western-most point of the continental United States (Cape Flattery). We have driven out there several times in the past 7 years. The ride is beautiful but the road was laid out by a drunk worm! It is all worth it, though. The Makah Indian Tribe has an excellent museum at Neah Bay which is just before Cape Flattery.

Also to the west of us is Lake Crescent which reminds me a lot of the lake in Farewell To Arms that Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones travelled across to get to freedom. (I guess I just "dated" myself. *sigh*) Lake Crescent is one of the most beautiful spots up here for my money. There is a lodge there with a good restaurant and some cabins for summer retreat. South of the lake is the town of Forks. Now there, they get rain - over 100 inches annually. They get all the heavy stuff and the clouds are all but spent before they get to Sequim. That weather effect is called a rain shadow and we are glad for that. It is one of the reasons we moved here. We get enough rain to keep everything green but not so much that we get sick of it.

I will post more later about where we are blessed to live. Keep an eye on us.

I have posted pictures of the rest of our "family." Whisper is out 3 year old Golden Retriever and Kelly is our (about) 6 year old, 20 pound ball of fuzz.

The two of them get along great - as long as EVERYONE remembers WHO is boss! Kelly, of course.

Have a great day.

Bill & Almie