I'm a big fan of bad weather. Monday morning's unexpected rain gave me a much-deserved day off.

I'm willfully guillible. When told something that either interests or tickles me, I tend to repeat it as gospel. To wit: years ago, I was told that when more than half the cows in a field are lying down, it is likely to rain.

For the past week, several days had skies filled with very interesting thunderheads. Sadly, they produced no rain to speak of.

I was once again all set to complain about the high humidity leading to miserable outdoor work conditions. Then there was an article in The New York Times on Tuesday about the Bootleg wildfire in Oregon. It is so large that it is creating its own weather.