Soft and Hard

I woke up this Sunday morning to a fine but steady rain, with the wind blowing through the trees and even some gusts at times.

The locals will probably hate me for saying this, but I'm glad! It's been quite strange being in Ireland and yet having dry, sunny weather for the past couple of weeks. It doesn't fit my picture of Ireland at all. Of course, everybody talks about the weather here, it seems to be the favorite way to start a conversation. The main topic has been what an unseemly summer it was because of excessive rain. Since the kids have gone back to school though, we've had sunny day after sunny day. Coming from Raleigh, with it's temps in the 90's and drought conditions, I have to say that, at least for right now, I quite like the rain. If nothing else, it lets me know I'm not at home :-)

I have to say though that I tend to snicker sometimes when I hear the complaints of how bad the rain here can be. People here would freak if Ireland got the kind of rain that I'm used to - thunderstorms and gullywashers, the occasional tornado, and scary rides down the interstate due to lack of visibility. Now that's adventure! :-)