Colorado isn’t generally known for being a rainy state. Usually people think of snow, bright blue skies and the Rocky Mountains when they think of Denver (though I’m sure plenty of people now associate pot smoking with Denver as well). Folks that live here know that the weather here isn’t just snow or sunshine; they know that August means lots of afternoon thunderstorms that you can practically set your watch by. But as August approaches this year, I’m wondering if those afternoon storms will lead to widespread flooding like we experienced in parts of the state last September.
As I sit here writing this blog entry I’m looking out the window at a vista that looks far more like my homeland of England than the sunny state I’ve come to know over the past 17 years. Blue skies and clouds that look as though they were created with a painter’s brush have given way to gloomy grey and rich green. Where the grass would normally be well on it’s way to fire tinder brown by this time of year, it is still lush and green thanks to all the rain we’ve had in the past couple of months.
While most Brits I’ve known bemoan the abundance of rain in the UK, I’ve always found something soothing in the scent and sound of it. I’m never so happy as when the rain is coming down steadily and I’ve thrown open the windows to let in the fresh air that smells of damp earth and new life. I can spend hours sitting quietly just listening to the voices in the rain, absorbing its whispered secrets. So, while everyone else in Colorado is hoping for warmer temperatures and sunshine, I’m reveling in the break from the heat and hoping that the rain sticks around just a little longer.
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And on a completely unrelated note, I’ve unofficially hit the halfway mark on the manuscript for Bitten, book 2 of the Riley Cray series. Poor Riley has been thrust into the world of vampires and opposing werewolf packs. She’ll pick up some new friends along the way, so let’s hope in the end her friends outweigh her enemies.