Dear remnants of Gabrielle and the unknown blob,

Thank you very much for all of the rain.  We really appreciated the 5-6” you gave us on Thursday night.  The plants and horses were so happy.  The hubby and I really enjoyed talking extremely loudly to each other over the sound of the rain hitting the tin porch roof.  We really didn’t need to hear the details of the movie that night.  Movies are visual after all.  Who needs dialog?  Then you gave us a break to “kinda sorta” dry out yesterday.  We were thankful for the dry spell and the mosquitoes were so happy that they hatched in droves.  Don’t forget the termites that loved the wet weather too.  They were beating their brains out on the screens last night.  I ran around and smashed the few who ventured inside the house.

Then you decided that we haven’t had enough of the wet stuff so right at sunrise you gave us more rain.  But you did switch up the direction a little bit.  The rain splattered through the bedroom windows onto my forehead.  I love raindrops on my head but it is not the best way to wake up.  Thank goodness for coffee and a walk through the former front yard with the dogs.  Today the grass was still there but instead of terra firma it was a swamp with a nice river running down the driveway.  Thank you for showing me where to plant all of my water thirsty plants! And I received a great “mud mask” for my toes.  Apparently movie stars pay big money for that spa treatment and you gave me one for free. Thank you, thank you, thank you but now we need to shut off the waterworks.  The roads are soaked, our formerly dry creek beds have popped their banks strewing debris on the roads, ponds are appearing in all low lying areas, and front porch has a leak in the roof.  We need sun, we crave sun, and we live here for sun.  Head north and take your tail with you.

Sincerely,

K

Yesterday I headed over to Main Island to do a little shopping before the blob currently known as Gabrielle formed.  Of course as the ferry pulled into Fajardo the rain started.  As I made my way to Carolina via Route 3 a full rainbow filled the sky.  I think “This is a great omen.  Perhaps it won’t deluge all day!”   It did rain buckets at moments but for the most part it was manageable.  There wasn’t too much water on the roads over there.  The 4:30 ferry was running a little late (shocker!) but that delay let me enjoy a spectacular sunset when I arrived on Vieques.  (I have attached Christy Maxwell’s photo.)  The sky was pink and red to the west and the reflection turned the sky in the east rosy as well.  It was Dr. Seuss unreal!  I haven’t seen a sunset like that in forever!   

After a hard day of shopping (gentlemen it really is tiring!)  the hubby and I headed out to Esperanza for dinner.  The nearly constant drizzle let up and we enjoyed dinner at Tradewinds with a light breeze. Stuffed and full we headed back up to Pilon and bed.  In the middle of the night the rain poured, the winds picked up and it was cold!  Even the dogs were looking to huddle for some warmth. 

Currently it is overcast, humid and quiet.  The bay in Esperanza is its normal self and it isn’t raining. It looks like Ponce is receiving most of the deluge today.

Off to work…

K

We are currently under a tropical storm watch.  Chantel is her name.  She will go to the south which is fortunate (if she stays there) and heavy thunderstorms are restricted to the south of the storm.  However this means I am off to move the plants. This is the last move for the plants as they will traverse the island to Pilon and their new home!  A safe spot away from salt spray.  So I am off with the calypso beat still in my brain from last nights band at La Nasa.  Thanks Jose for the fun week and celebrating all of the wonderful parts of Vieques!

K

I know my posts have been few and far between but when we only have lovely sunny skies and a nice breeze what is there to tell?

This morning was different.  I woke to rain drops on my head.  I quickly shut the offending shutter and settled back in for a little more sleep.  Around 5:00AM the thunder grumbled and the lightening crackled.  The power must have cut off somewhere during the night because the alarm clock was blinking the time. I finally climbed out of bed thinking it was around 7:30 and to my amazement it was 9:15.  The skies were so dark that there was no way to tell the difference.  The grumbling and lighting show continued until somewhere around 1:00PM.  The rain came down in sheets at first and then slacked off to a steady deluge.  My rain gauge gave out so I am not sure how much we received in inches.  However the crickets, tree frogs and coquis are creating a cacophony of noise so I assume that means we received a lot of rain.  We were under a flood warning but no issues here that I know of. 

I headed us to the new house thinking it would be a great day to work on a little interior painting.  Wrong!!!  The paint we had applied yesterday was still tacky.  So I drew some details on the walls and waited for a glimpse of our new view of Main Island.  It never appeared.  Occasionally I could make out the mosquito pier.  But the view of the rain falling and the bamboo blowing made for a pretty sight.  I understand now why people say Pilon is the closest we have to a rainforest here in Vieques.  It looked similar to a view I saw in Costa Rica.

So off for a sip and some dinner with the hubby.  It will be great sleeping tonight with the cool air. Hopefully the mozzies will wait just a little longer to hatch. 

K

Well we had a 70% chance of rain for the entire holiday weekend and only received a drop of rain.  Disappointing for the garden but great for our visitors.   We can use the rain.  Hopefully we will receive some this week. 

Things are well here on the VQS.  Lots of police presence.  Interesting that they don’t stop for stop signs or yield to traffic on during a left hand turn.  But they are doing a great job on keeping the island quiet.

Off to paint during our “dry” spell.  I may as well take advantage of the great breeze and sunny skies.

Have a great day!

K