After a very dry summer we have had a few welcome days of cloudy weather with a fair amount of rain this week. The trails have been muddy, the dogs have been damp for 72 hours at least, and the nighttime temperatures have been perfect for sleeping.

I stood on my front porch at sunset last evening just as the clouds were beginning to break. For a brief moment I could see the first snow-capped peak of the season ahead of me catching the last light of the day.

My favorite time of the year is rapidly approaching. The summer heat is over, the insects go away, rattlesnakes stay underground, and my two arctic breed dogs can once again breathe easy and run all over Montana. We've got about the next seven months of pure heaven ahead of us!