"dpb" wrote in message
...

I hear that. Trex sure seems like a good idea, but even in the cool
PNW*, it doesn't look good after a few years. Kind of like tomato paste
with a sprinkle of mildew.

* Tongue in cheek... After a cool, rotten spring, it's going to be nearly
100° here today.

We, otoh after two weeks of 100F (which was good for wheat harvest) have
had a week of more nearly normal or cooler (80s is cool, 90s normal, 100
is beginning to be hot for us). Almost all of the rest of the state is in
process of being flooded w/ some having had as much as 15" from the
remnants of Alex moisture while we're still begging for more than
sprinkles. It's been drizzly today but still on a few tenths
accumulation; row crops are definitely in a hurt...

Noticed a little bit ago it was nearly 90 in Olympia where younger
daughter is located....she'll be complaining.

Remind her that there's plenty of perfectly cold bodies of water to jump
into, if push comes to shove. We're not far from Olympia, in a little
micro-climate of our own, probably the most extreme climate in western WA.
People who never travel west of the Rockies don't even know what humidity
is, because it's so rarely hot and humid at the same time, in the west.
Near Yuma, our neighbors aren't likely to see a day under 100° for a few
more months. 110° or more is "normal." Fortunately, unlike over-populated,
over-irrigated Phoenix, the humidity usually runs at 10-20%, except for
those brief moments when the monsoons hit. Everything's dry 1/2 hour later.
The local TV weather people get all excited when there's a 30% chance of
rain, even though they usually just get "virga" rain, i.e., it evaporates
before it ever hits the ground. It kind of "feels" like it's raining, but
it isn't. As you know, this has been a goofy weather year throughout the
country. Yuma is already way over their annual rainfall average of about
4", but things are back to normal now...