Walking On The Brown Oakland Lake Park Hills Thinking About The Brown Hills Of Eastern Washington

So far it does not appear that Tropical Storm Don has arrived. But, for some reason the rain chance has been raised 10 points to 30%.

I think I remember what rain feels like.

I had a rough night with N. Somnia last night. It is hard to sleep with N. Somnia. During the short sleeping bouts very disturbing nightmares disturbed me, of which I remember nothing except for finding them disturbing.

A long bout in the pool seemed to have perked me up.

Before noon I went to Oakland Lake Park, again, to walk around Fosdic Lake, again. It was 94 degrees when I left air-conditioned comfort. It was 96.5 upon my return to air-conditioned comfort, with the Real Feel Heat Index feeling like 101.

The browned grass of Oakland Lake Park reminded me of Eastern Washington today. That is the browned grass in the picture, looking west at a stand of trees in front of Fosdic Lake.

When I was a kid I was always fascinated by the brown hills of Eastern Washington. Going from the green, west side of the Cascades, to a totally different climate and topography on the east side.

It was not til I was 12 years old that I traveled far enough from Washington to discover that those brown type hills cover a lot of America, though Washington's version, with its rolling hills and coulees, is more scenic than some. That, and much of the brown has had green added to it, with irrigation allowing the growing of apples, peaches, apricots, grapes, nectarines, cherries, wheat, corn, hops and other stuff I'm likely forgetting.

The last time I saw the brown hills of Eastern Washington was the summer of 2001. We went on a fruit run to the Wenatchee zone with a stop in Leavenworth on the way. In the years since I moved to Texas, the Walla Walla zone has become a wine producing mecca. When I lived in Washington the agricultural product Walla Wallas was known for were its Walla Walla Sweet Onions.

I'm in the mood for a Washington visit. I think cherry season may be over. But, blackberries should soon be ripe for the free picking.