Tuesday, June 28, 2011

shelling in the rain


It took its time getting here, but it is officially the rainy season.


Even though it did not quite rise to Wagnerian proportions, the rain arrived Sunday night accompanied with some thunder and a few lightening effects.  More Les Misérables than Götterdämmerung.


But I could hear the rain falling -- even above the hum of my sleep-inducing floor fan.  It sounded as if I had left the shower running full blast.


When I got up on Monday morning, the garden looked renewed.  The plants that had started to droop in the summer heat were revived.


My neighbors were strolling along the laguna.  The best thing about the summer rains is how the air seems to be immediately cooled.  The temperature was 81 degrees and the humidity was high.  But the air felt cool.  Cool enough that each walker wore a jacket.

 

But I discovered I was not alone on the patio.  As I sat down, what looked like a large stone took off at quite a pace toward the shrubbery.  So, I grabbed it and picked it up.


Being picked up was not what it had in mind as a good time.  Its feet started windmilling to good effect -- the claws managing to take a bit of flesh.


I am not certain what it was.  I suspect a tortoise.  But I know Gary Denness can let us know.  He may have left his turtles in Mexico, but his knowledge travels well.



I put it down, and off it scurried in a very non-tortoise fashion.  Just as I returned to follow Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin through another game of world poker, nature decided it was time for a rain encore.  Not one of the piddly, puddly showers we have had over the past two weeks.  More like Iguazu Falls.

 

When the rains come, I like to drive around town to see how quickly the streets fill with water.  This drive revealed why we do not refer to our street pavers as cobblestones.  They are called river rock.


From now until October or so, the rains will return to give us a bit of relief from the summer heat and humidity.  Temporary relief.  By the afternoon, the sun had returned to perform its alchemy of turning cool air into tropical damp.


This Friday I will see whether rains in San Miguel are better or worse than the June rains of Melaque. 

21 comments:

NWexican said...

Ah rain; I was going to say, "yeah I missed it as it had been a few days," then I looked out the window. Alas, never too far away, or far enough.

Babsofsanmiguel said...

GLAD you're getting the summer rains........it does make life more enjoyable.
We've had over 5 inches in a week!  So surprising.  As I sit and write this, I have on pj's, a robe and socks.........BUT it will warm up to low 80's or high 70's before the day is done.
Come on over...........we're looking forward to your visit!

Steve Cotton said...

It turns out we had just over 4 inches of rain on our inaugural.  And I am ready for the run over.  Almost.  i need tio get over to the auto electrical mechanic.  One of my windows yesterday stuck in the down position.  Not good for the rainy season.

Steve Cotton said...

I will confess, though, I really do like the summer rain in Oregon. Actually, I love Oregon summers.

Kim G said...

Here in DF, it has too been quite rainy.  And for a city that gets much of its rain in short, intense bursts, the drainage systems are often not quite up to the task.

At least no hail this time.

Saludos,

Kim G
DF, México
Where we are flojeando.

blog said...

We had 5 minutes of rain here in Capitan, NM yesterday. The ground is soooo dry it didn't reflect the short wetting. And it is hot - not to our liking. Already want to be back in Mexico!

have fun in SMA - give a hug to Babs and Billie for us.

Gary Denness said...

I guess my email arrived too late. Alas. I'm not much of an expert really, outside of my own prefered brand of turtle. But I'd say, at a guess, that this little fellow is a Central American River Turtle. Or a close relative. He looks fiesty, anyway.

Steve Cotton said...

I think you may be correct.  And if it is, it is an endangered species.

Steve Cotton said...

I am looking forward to the San Miguel trip.

Gary Denness said...

I think they are supposed to be quite good to eat. Too good, by the sounds of it. Poor things.

Steve Cotton said...

Funny you mention hail.  I was thinking how much I miss it down here.

Gary Denness said...

Breaking news - it is raining in the UK. The continuous miserable drizzle type rain....

Steve Cotton said...

Or it may be a Mexican mud turtle.  Though, that name is hardly the most attractive.

Steve Cotton said...

Whatever it is, if it is taken for a mud turtle, maybe it won't end up on the dinner table. But if a cow head can, I suppose a mud turtle can.

Steve Cotton said...

Actually, my favorite type of rain.

ANM said...

Any sense of whether there might be some Japanese nuclear plant run-off in any of that rain?  Here in the northwest we have trace amounts of airborne radioactive material from the Japanese nuclear plants that melted down.

Keep an eye out for a two-headed mud turtle.

ANM

Steve Cotton said...

If it is Japanese and radioactive, I am holding out for Godzilla.

Tafreeburn said...

i was in a pet store in nagoya last monday and they had a huge turtle/tortoise.  it was loose and it decided to come after me. of course i was faster, but i moved pretty quickly. i took pix and will send them soon. they also had bats, which i thought would be an unusual pet, chinchillas, moneys, hedgehogs and some other pets i would not care to have.  interesting place!

teresa

Steve Cotton said...

A Japanese friend told me once that his countrymen are prone to keeping odd pets. His opinion is that it is a safe way to be a non-conformist.

I look forward to the photographs.

ANM said...

Eschewing the low profile again, I see.  ANM

Steve Cotton said...

Low profiles are so small.