And Today's Forecast Is...

Rain.

Imagine that.

The weather always makes for fascinating (?) conversations, does it not?
Extreme heat; severe drought. Record cold and record snow. Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Dust storms.

Rain.

I cannot remember the last day when we did not have rain at our house. It's come to be expected, like the daily afternoon coffee that I know I will enjoy (even at this moment, as a matter of fact). But enjoy the rain? Not so much anymore.

Oh, it has its advantages:

The weather is cooler. The grass is greener. The flowers and the trees are thriving.

It also has its disadvantages: weeds, mosquitoes, washed out yards and driveways and roads.
Swollen lakes. Flooded homes. Water moccasins and alligators and other creatures of the river on the move.

Consider this combination of the good and the bad: I'm sitting outside on a front porch that faces the west on a mid-July afternoon because the weather is cool. This has not been known to happen since we acquired the property in 2007. At the same time, I am fighting mosquitoes while the rain drips off a metal roof. The air is humid. The cats are lazy.

Is that a gnat in my coffee?

And so it goes. Next year we may very well experience the typical dry, hot summer and long for the wet days of 2013. The weather can be a fickle beast.

Much like my old man cat.
Some things just are expected.