Alas, I am not returning from my hiatus with this post, I am merely making it official.

Quick explanation: the combination of summer heat, depression (caused by said heat), and lack of topics I wish to write on has caused me to stop writing. Technically, I could have continued putting up fluff posts and “I dunno what to write” posts, but I’ve written enough of those already, and don’t want to get burned out on blog writing entirely.

So, I’m taking a vacation from this. I’ll be back once the weather cools down into the 60’s on average, which, given the predictable climate here, should be the middle of next month. By then, I’ll no longer be plagued by heat issues, and hopefully I’ll find some more topics along the way.

The post Some Days you’re just Running on Empty appeared first on Under A Rock Art.

So sorry about the break.  I had to dig myself out of something.

Well, mostly I had a bit of burnout.  Apparently I can only think of, what, 840 topics before I run out of things to say.  But I’ve spent some lovely time recovering my energy and I’m ready to go again!  Hopefully I can think of new topics!

Alright, that’s enough for this post.  Back to playing Minecraft.  My recent re-addiction to it has absolutely nothing to do with the missing posts.  Nothing.  I swear.

The post Bear With Me for a Moment, Please appeared first on Under A Rock Art.

There’s one really odd aspect of moving from Maryland to the Seattle area: the weather. It follows very different patterns here.

In Maryland, and all the other areas I’ve lived until recently, the weather revolved around the frontal system. A strong line of storms and wind would come through, then a week or so of calm weather, and then another front. Sometimes we wouldn’t get rain from a system coming through, but there were still subtle changes in air pressure and temperature. Well, not so subtle for the temperature. Large shifts are pretty common. Worst I saw was when it went from being in the comfortable 60’s one day and chilly 20’s and snowing the next. This gave life a backdrop of wave-like motion, as the fronts came in and out.

Out here, though, there isn’t a frontal pattern. Sure, it rains a lot, but it’s not associated with strong clumps of low pressure passing through. Water gets picked up by the atmosphere as it passes over the ocean, and then gets dropped again when the air slowly drifts up and over the Cascade mountains. The precipitation is blobby, clear in some areas, raining in neighboring ones. It’s not heavy that often, either. Usually it’s a gentle rain, floating out of the sky rather than truly falling. And the temperatures stay fairly stable. There have been a few heat waves, a couple days where the temperatures spiked, but aside from those? It’s been in the 50’s and 60’s the entire time I’ve lived here.

Around this time of year, back in Maryland, I’d have gone fully nocturnal to escape the daytime heat. I’d also be slowly melting mentally, as the average temperature hit 70 and above. Summer has long been a time where I did nothing of note, merely survived.

I can already tell Summer’s still going to be my least favorite season. It’s sunny far more often than not here during June and July, so I’m spending less time outside. But there are some cloudy days, even rainy ones. And the temperatures are still pleasant.

One of the most interesting things about living here is going to be learning the cycles of the seasons, I can tell. They’re quite different than what I’m used to, far more subtle.

I like subtle.

The post I want the Rain to wash my soul, the Cloud to shade my path, and the Sun to go away. appeared first on Under A Rock Art.

Some days I really wish I wasn’t allergic to sunlight…

There’s just something really sad about having trouble with the source of the energy that powers just about all life on this planet. I think I’ve seen and read enough tales about people who can’t stand the Source of Life to know it rarely ends well for them. For one thing, they’re usually not the good guys in those stories…

Oh, and all those stories about Seattle never seeing the sun? That doesn’t apply during the summer. It’s been oh-so-very sunny lately. All sorts of marvelous days for biking and picnicking and swimming and whatever it is normal people do. In related news, I’ve spent most of this past week avoiding going outside when I have a choice…

The post I was promised rain and gloomy days! appeared first on Under A Rock Art.

I miss snow.

Mind you, saw plenty last winter. It’s just wandering into the summer months, and well, I miss snow. Happens every year around this time, even years with lots of snow. Even years with no snow.

Something about early June just makes me want it to snow.

This seems backwards somehow.

The post The Bitter Temps, the Difficulty of Getting Around, ah, how I miss it… appeared first on Under A Rock Art.