Waiting on the Fourth of July

Here in the Pacific Northwest, this time of year can be a little depressing. More often than not, it's raining, and the brief appearances by the sun serve mostly to remind us how little we've seen it. It's exactly how people think of the Pacific Northwest: Gray, wet and cool.

Fortunately, we're creeping ever closer to summer, which is anything but gray, wet or cool. People from other parts of the country tend to be unaware of what a summer in Oregon or Washington is like. I could give you the climate data, but it's much easier to simply say it's glorious.

Rain? No. Sun? All day. Temps? Warm, but generally below anything starting with a 9. Excepting higher elevations, there aren't even many thunderstorms (a plus or minus, depending on your preference). Like the residents of the PNW, July, August and September are very accommodating.

But note that June does not make that list. June is not a favorite month in these parts. The month that sounds like a nice older woman is actually quite a cruel mistress, offering any number of warm, sunny days, but also dishing out punishment in the form of rain, wind or hail. Woe is the school child who thinks the end of the school year equates to summer weather, or the bride who thinks the official change of the season means her outdoor wedding will be mild and precipitation-free. June offers enough heat to convince us to put away our sweaters and flannel (it's true, some of us do still wear it) in favor of tank tops and sandals, then it breaks our spirits with weather left over from the stunted month of February.

Hang around the west side of Oregon long enough, and you'll learn the unofficial start date of summer: July 4. That, the old-timers say, is when you can count on the rain and clouds to be gone. After July 4, you can plan a barbecue, a river float or a picnic without fear of forgetting a raincoat. And I have to say that in the six years I've been living here, I've found this local adage to be true.

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