The Weather

I must be running low on ideas -- but there is always the weather.

Jeri and I were sitting in our screened in lanai -- all dressed in our jackets and sweaters trying to keep warm.  Oh --  I failed to mention -- that was last January and it was in the 40's.  That is cold here in Florida.  Our teeth were chattering and we were shivering.  We went inside to get warm.

We agreed, back then,  that there would be a time in the near future when we would have nice hot weather and we would probably complain about that, too.  We were right -- here it is.  And so it goes.

We failed to forecast, last January, that, along with the warm weather, would come something else that mother nature foists upon us in the summer here in Florida -- and that is RAIN.  Oh don't get me wrong -- we need rain -- lots of rain for all the lush greenery and tall palm trees and lawns abounding in nice green grass.  Now, Florida is known for its summer rain showers.  But it has rained every day here in the sunshine state for the past two months.  Our nice screened-in lanai is all wet and dreary and messy.  Our comfortable swing-set is not able to accommodate us.  We want to sit and relax and have a glass of wine and talk about the past but IT IS SOGGY WET.  And things are getting muddy and moldy!  The grass is growing so fast. We need to mow our lawn every other day, it seems.  

Now and then the sun comes out and begins to dry things off a bit and we get all excited about that.  Maybe a day without rain.  Maybe we can have dinner in our lanai and hear the birds and enjoy the warm Florida breeze -- but NO.  We hear thunder.  That rumble has become a normal part of our day -- and, shortly thereafter,  here comes the rain -- again -- and spoils our fresco dinner plans.  We just can't be satisfied, can we? Yes, I am complaining!

But here is what I know for sure.  There will be a day when our dry lawn begins to turn brown and we will need to use our irrigation system to water the grass. And the powers that be will tell us that we can only water on Sunday and Thursday because a drought is coming and the water levels are getting low.  And I think you already know what we will say.  "Remember last summer when it rained every day?"  And we will say that won't we? And I know also that next January we will sit in our lanai and shiver and recall "last summer" when it was in the 90's and we had to go inside to get cool. And we will probably forget that it rained everyday.  And we will hope that it doesn't freeze and kill our plants tonight.

Nothing seems to please us does it?  Well it is humid and in the 90's today --  again. I need to leave my nice cool office and go out and check the mail.  Well, Hell -- I hear thunder --  I better grab the umbrella -- it's raining -- again.

From the heart of Olaf Hart .....