Spring!

I know I'm a little late, spring is nearly over. Only 20 days till summer. I'm not counting down to summer for summer's sake, but my birthday is the first day of summer so it's ingrained in me.

I have such a new appreciation for spring. When you grow up in western Washington seasons aren't distinct. Winter blends into spring, spring into summer and summer into fall and so on. The beauty of this is that there are so few extremes. It doesn't get extremely hot or extremely cold. Okay, maybe there are days of extreme rain and clouds... but even then we're not talking hurricanes, monsoons or torrential downpours. So you really learn to just take the weather one day at a time and you don't think about what season it should be.

I digress. So I currently live in Kennewick, (southern) Washington. Thirty minutes north of the Oregon border. Here we have more distinct seasons but still skewed toward really-stinkin-hot-all-the-time or pretty-darn-cold-with-little-to-no-snow. It is also always WINDY!

This year, however, has been most enjoyable. I hear others complain that it has been a very rainy spring, and that it should be nicer by now. It has been perfect, in my opinion. I love rainy days, so the more the better. Also, I have a new appreciation for this time of year. It's the only time there is any natural greenery around here and when it is sunny it is enjoyable because it stays around 70 degrees outside!

Another reason I am loving this spring is because this is my first spring working in Pendleton.

Pendleton is a small town in Oregon, south of Walla Walla and nestled right next to the Blue Mountains. It is mostly known for the yearly rodeo held there, the Pendleton Round-Up but also known for the Pendleton Woollen Mills, and Pendleton Grain Growers.

Pendleton is about 70 miles from Tri-Cities and about an hour and fifteen minute drive. I have worked in Pendleton since last August. I really enjoy the people, the small town and the unconventional rural SNF I work in.

More to the point, I also love my long rural commute. Most days it's me, 2-3 other cars and some semis. On the occasional Friday there's some real traffic and that means maybe 10 cars and several semis.

The thing about this little Pendleton story, and why it's part of my Spring post, is that Pendleton is GORGEOUS in the spring. There are green fields, farms with baby animals running around and usually nice patchy cloud cover that keeps it cooler but still sunny. It is wide open but with the backdrop of the Blues. Driving down into the valley that holds Pendleton can be breathtaking. Particularly in the spring. I wish I could capture it and share the beauty but I'm not sure that's safe to do while driving. Maybe one of these days I'll pull over and take some pictures. Here is one I found on this website though.