Hot Summer days, Wet Summer nights

The picture at the left shows how high the thunderheads get over our island offshore from Sarasota, Florida. The right hand side picture is our home, with an almost solid background of graying cloud. This is typical July weather here, with hot and steamy days, and cooling rain at night. You'll note no cars in the driveway, as often these storms bring hail, so both vehicles spend time in the garage. Weather today reached 90, but it is always a few degrees cooler on the island with the sea breeze.

As I sit down to write this blog entry, it's only 84 degrees with scattered thunder storms, and overnight it'll get down to 75 by six AM as Ripley and I will start our Monday with the ritual walk down to the Marina, and back. Our trip takes us through the Tennis Gardens (over 20 courts), past the Grille at the club, where we stop for water, and then onward to admire all the boats at anchor. By the time we return home, his food has been set out and my wife has that first coffee along with the morning newspaper. Rip and I both like to avoid her until that second cup touches her lips. She's more than happy to catch that extra 45 minutes of sleep anyway.

Looking out my window into the courtyard, I can see the 40% chance of precipitation has not YET come to pass, although on our after supper walk we heard lots of rumbling and didn't tarry far from the house. Precipitation or perspiration, it doesn't need rain here to qualify as a participant in the wet T-shirt contest, so the water bills are higher in the summer due to many more cycles of laundry.

So, the summer cycle revolves around Ripley and the weather, with the object being to spend as much time as possible in air conditioned comfort, without becoming a total couch potato. Some good news - we're now 25% of the way through the traditional June through end of November hurricane season, and only two tropical depressions passing far away. Having sold the Missouri condo my wife insists we no longer have a Plan B. If a hurricane should come here and take out both the current home and the rental property six miles up the island, I think my Plan B is to take the insurance check and book myself into Plan C - a long cruise around the world.