Ever notice how short our memories are where weather is concerned?

Of late, we have been concentrating on the pains and woes of Americans in states such as Florida because of the merciless onslaughts of hurricanes and tornadoes. There are drought-stricken areas in western Kansas and the Southwest, wildfires and earthquakes in California. There is fear that the treacherous Mount St. Helens may have another temper tantrum akin to the one that killed at least 57 people in 1980.

In our concentration on the less-than-desirable behavior of Mother Nature, we often forget the many blessings such as those bestowed upon us here in 2004.

Currently, we are focused on the need for a rain to clean the landscape and nurture growing things. But what about the summer we enjoyed in Lawrence this year? Consider how our sesquicentennial events have been able to unfurl in such outstanding conditions.

For most of the year, the moisture total in our region was running as much as 10 inches above normal. Think back to the glorious, radiant, colorful springtime with which we were favored. It has been a long, long time since we’ve had such a lovely spring. How many can recall when the Lawrence area ever has entered the month of September looking any greener or fresher than we did this year?

People in the weather business realize they work in a field where the daily question is: “Well, what have you done for us lately?” Ask an agricultural expert what is happening, and he or she may quickly respond that “We need more rain (as we do now).” Earlier, we heard, “It would be wonderful if the rain would let up and we could get some sunshine and drying-out.”

Weather memories are horribly short, and that is too bad. Mother Nature too often gets a bad rap when, in fact, she can be pretty favorable, overall, to a populace, like ours this year. Now if we could just get some more rain and some cooler conditions to go along with those recent harvest moons. … Is anyone ever really satisfied?