just blowing over

A few weeks ago, just after Barco died, a small storm blew through town. But not much of one.

It brought us a bit of rain. A few clouds. Lots of wind. And then it was gone.

At the time, I thought it was a fitting end to a too-dry rainy season. Going out with a whimper was somehow appropriate.

The flocks of northern tourists are flying in. That is usually a sure sign the rain is almost over and our heat and humidity is days away from feeling cozy warm.

That may not be true, though. A couple nights ago, we had a few maverick rain drops. About enough to look as if some alcohol-dependent partier had spilled his ice cubes in the courtyard. Maybe the rain is not done with us, yet.

As for the heat and humidity, we are still armpit deep in what feels like September weather. It was 93 degrees here earlier in the afternoon. The humidity number was not far behind.

I messaged a copy of the above photograph to a close friend in England on the day of the storm. When I last visited her two years ago, that is almost how her snotgreen sea (as James Joyce would have it) looked.

The difference, of course, is that the temperature on the San Patricio beach was 84 degrees, not the scrotumtightening (to once again abuse Joyce) 40s I experienced in England. And Fleetwood, for some reason, did not have salsa music playing in the background.

We could still use more rain here. A lot more. The farmers, most likely, are going to find this another disappointing year. Ironically, after two years of flooded fields.

I read an article in The Economist this week that Mexico is near the top of the list of countries that will be experiencing "water stress" -- where there will not be enough water to meet agricultural and manufacturing needs -- by 2030. This area may arrive at the bus stop before the rest of the country.

Our county seat went without water for about a month due to infrastructure problems. I am not certain if the water is flowing again. Our local villages have suffered from "water on-water off" over the summer.

If the storms decide to return to give us a month or so of rain (and heat relief), I am not going to be the first guy in the complaint line.

Maybe a trip to England should be in the offing.