Rejoice we can! Real Qingdao weather has returned. Was I the only one worried about those months of dry air? There was no rain and no rain more again. Finally it rained and that was great. And then there was a thunderstorm and that was great too, but then…. the fog came back. Oh yea! The Qingdao Fog.

We need to embrace the fog. Draping the hills and seashore in the mist of mystery, the fog should be loved. Learn to *know* the fog. For instance, ever notice that it never rains on foggy days? Those low-lying clouds seldom drop rain.

Seeing it again- the Qingdao Fog; feeling it again; it feels like being wrapped in a Qingdao fog blanket. The sun shines into the fog. It’s a halo of light. The fog moves like wind, and I can see wisps of Xiao Zhu Shan coming through. Rock in the mist. It’s like a slice of Heaven. The temperature is Perfect.

The Qingdao Fog usually builds up to rain. A few days of fog will be followed by a day of rain. This gorgeous rain cleans the air, so when the rainy day comes… the next day will be a spellbindingly Qingdao beautiful sunshine blue-sky day. Enjoy it. Odds are that it will only be one day long. One day rain equals next day beautiful. Qingdao weather math.

Sometimes I have wondered whether I better knew the fog or the fog better knew me. Of course in the end that’s nonsense. The fog has no eyes or ears from which to observe. And yet it’s everywhere. It must possess a means to Know. Yet the rain drives it away. So it never stays forever.

We should give it due respect and be duly cautious. Humility will serve us well. Yet it should be known that one day, some years back, on a day of deep, rich fog, I walked among the gods. I laced up my boots and went up the mountain into the clouds.

It was visibly damp. At the top summit cone of the mountain, I found a break in the clouds. Yes- the top of the mountain rose through. Believing not what I saw, I scrambled up the summit cone, leaving the clouds below. No_clouds_were_above.

Shining sun! Blue sky! A few birds! Majestic grandeur! The Qingdao coastline was draped in a thick, thick fog, but I was above it. That low cloud flowed—— no, poured—- over the hills. And… I was alone up there.

I turned, scanning the horizon. Lingshan Dao could not be seen above the clouds. Da Zhu Shan could not be seen above the clouds. Wow. Xiao Zhu Shan is tall. Above the clouds was only the pure blue Heaven, pure clean air. And then I saw it- peeping above the clouds, away in the long distance: the only other Earthly matter above the fog. Far off, it was Lao Shan.

The fog had revealed one of its secrets. Thank you, Qingdao Fog.