Without even following the news, rather just by sniffing the air and going about routine business, it was a noticeably WET month here in Washington. Upon investigation, it’s turning out it was the wettest fall on record. And the second wettest November on record. (It will be hard to beat 2006 –where 15.63″ came down in Seattle alone that month.) An “atmospheric river” came through our region the middle of the Month.

Nonetheless we persisted in our commencing our Remembrance holiday plans in Leavenworth. My vision of golden crisp autumn hikes with children dancing ahead of my on the trail, as we took in the changing of the colors turned into cold puddle splashing slogs with faces wet with rain and tears. There were two speeds of rain that weekend. Fast and faster. If we thought the rain might be letting up and so we bundled up to head out, it was certain to be pouring by the time we were underway. We withstood the elements better, we found, when we were well fed and in the company of friends.

On our way home from Leavenworth, we spilled out of the mountains along with torrents of rainwater and crashing snow melt. Every mountainside was a cascade of water, and the rivers swelled and like a tidal wave crashed into the region north of us, bringing press photos of stand up paddle boarders in downtown Bellingham streets and letters from HRH Queen Elizabeth II sending condolences to the province of British Columbia. It was intense to be out there in the mountains witnessing the makings of the flooding as it happened.

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The mid-month atmospheric river subsided, and we were granted a relative, but still very wet, reprieve before the next “river” blew in at the end of the month from Hawaii. Thanksgiving weekend fantasies of cold but sunny days at the beach were dashed by the reality of rain upon rain. So we enjoyed a lovely relaxing weekend, full of healthy food, and having a hilarious time playing inside and down in the basement. Giggles rang through the house for days on end.

The fleeting moment it appeared the rain was letting up to a steady mist we dashed out to Westport to take a walk near the Pacific Ocean. The sun shone for a few minutes. We drank it in!

We are thankful for the friends and family that brought the warmth and rays of bright sunshine to our lives and our outings this month against that omnipresent backdrop of grey.