At the end of June, a month typically characterized by its unsettled weather, comes news that this year we will set a record for the cloudiest June on record.

It usually rains in June, that isn't news. It always comes after a period of early summer weather which we get in late April and early May, duping us every year into believing that the wet months are over and the dry ones are here. But the transition to summer is always longer than that, and it never really arrives until mid July, when the drought begins.

This June has been different though. It has been a lot less rainy than usual but it has been a lot more cloudy. There have been a series of weak lows in the Gulf of Alaska bringing moisture to the south coast but not precipitation. We've had 139 hours of sun, 10 hours less than the previous low record,

There must be some kind of correlation between this unusual weather and the bumper berry crops. I suspect it's the lack of rain, but perhaps the lack of sun keeps the berries fresher and on the bush longer. Botanists out there, feel free to weigh in on this one.