July 16, 2018 – Monday
Okay, okay. No hysteria over 2 lobsters back-to-back.
And yes, as per yesterday’s post, Summer has arrived on the island. And … omg … this morning was glorious … a sublime 73 at 11am, a gentle breeze, wind chimes chiming, ducks and chickens and crows squawking and cawing (okay, maybe that part wasn’t so sublime – they’re just damn noisy!) and Summer really IS easy.
But Summer here isn’t easy all the time … unless I don’t go anywhere. If I want to sit on my deck and walk the ‘hood, I’m good. But if I want to drive anywhere or walk anywhere or go anywhere or eat anywhere or – Heaven forbid – go off island … then things become problematic!
And so, “Summertime and the living is easy” morphs into “Summertime and the living is FRUSTRATING”! Hell yeah.
I hate to say there is a “problem” with Summer. Who doesn’t love this season? Well, someone who likes warmth, hot days, humidity, fireflies, balmy evenings, bare skin, green grass, no wait lines (anywhere) and tank tops might find issues with the Summers of the NW (aka: me)!
Not to mention … we have to wait 10 months for a Summer that lasts a month or two with a few highs in the 80s, some high 70s but mostly low 70s and high 60s. Too cool in my book. No wonder there is no outdoor pool on the south end of this island. Who would go in it? Vacationing Polar Bears? It’s not warm enough to swim in a pool – unless you have your wetsuit on! The weather factor is a big issue here … frustrating at best when one wants to sit on the deck for dinner without having to don pants and a sweater. All last month we were light until 10:30 pm … but it was just too chilly to be out and enjoy it. I don’t want to have to wear a COAT when it’s June or July! The NW weather is a lesson in frustration and patience.
The other thing that arrives when Summer does is the burn ban. It goes into effect the minute it stops raining and it gets warm enough to want to sit out and chat at night around a fire. So, all the wood I’ve stacked for myself and my guests by my firepit will remain untouched until fall … when the ban is lifted and the rains start and it’s too wet to have a fire. So much for my vision of s’mores and fire-lit nights. I keep hoping for a different outcome but it’s been the same way the last four Summers!
Another issue is that it is dry here. As in DRY. How can a place that has high humidity and be surrounded by water be dry???? It confounds me! Before I moved out here, I never thought that the NW was EVER dry. Wrong! The rains stop around July 4th and don’t start again for another 75 days and everything that was nice and green and lush and happy yesterday is brown, crispy, half-baked … or dead … today. It happens that quickly! And this year, the rains stopped sooner, meaning we were dryer a month earlier. I’m onto this, Mom Nature, and have been watering my hydrophobic soil (diligently) for the last two months and what do I have to show for it? A high water bill, that’s what!
My flowers look like I haven’t even pointed a hose in their direction. The annuals I planted have already been pulled out and thrown into the compost heap. The day lilies are parched, the lavender has seen better days and even the red hot pokers, daisies and moss roses (that grow on ROCKS and in the desert) are days away from a decent funeral. My grass is so crispy and brown it’s like a lawn made out of Rice Krispie Treats! And whatever flowers and fauna have weathered the weather … the deer have tasted or eaten and the slugs have finished off the rest. Who said gardening up here was fun? It’s not!
We have waited so long to have lovely weather … no soggy anything anymore … but we are not the only ones loving it. I drove into town the other day, delivering pies, and my first thought was something along the lines of …”I’m so glad Summer has arrived. But I can’t wait for Autumn! OMG – THESE DAMN TOURISTS!” How can I so desperately want the season I’ve waited so long for to pass me by? I know I live in a tourist town! People are idiots when on vacation. I know this. I am one of them! Tourism benefits my dog and bnb businesses and our town in general … but, people! Learn how to drive! Learn how to walk! Be a considerate visitor! I know you’re on vacation and rules no longer apply to you and yours … but please, for the love of god … watch where you are going! Driving in town until October will be brutal.
Extra bodies also mean extra traffic, extra dangers and extra wait times on the ferry (2 hours wait time in both directions this past week) … making any trip to even TARGET over 8 hours of just travel time before I include shopping time. Who does that?
Extra bodies also mean that the restaurants are crowded and we have to wait (okay, that’s fine) and that the grocery stores are busier … fine, too. I know this is all so incredibly good for the island community and economy … but it’s also frustrating. Be VERY careful in those parking lots. NO ONE is looking where they are walking or driving or parking!
Yesterday was our warmest day yet … 82 heavenly degrees … and I spent the better portion of that marvelously warm day power-washing my deck. I could have been on a picnic, or out riding my bike, or off doing 100 other more fun things … but, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from living on this island, it’s that you take advantage of the good days to do what you need to do outside – because you might never get the chance again! As in EV-ER. The forecast might say 80 degrees again – but nothing is ever for sure. It could just as well turn out to be a 65 degree day!
Power-washing is a lot more fun when you do it when it’s 80 degrees and sunny out as opposed to 65 degrees and cloudy! Been there – done that. Not fun. But, while my deck is now gorgeous and moss-free … and my hand is permanently shaped into a claw from holding the spray nozzle … I would rather have been doing something other than ridding my deck of the slimy moss that accumulated over the last 10 months. But, it’s now done.
But, it’s frustrating to know that one of a handful of days that we’ll get (over 80 degrees) was spent doing this stupid task.
So, yeah, it’s Summertime and the living is easy but it’s also frustrating (at times). But I live on an island and have learned to take the good with the not-so-good. These frustrations, nuances of living here, are to be expected … even if it not so pleasant. And, to help keep this all in perspective, I’ve had a few gut punches recently and while I can bitch and moan and be frustrated about a whole variety of things … I am not the friend who is dying of brain cancer … I am not the friend who had an unexpected hip replacement while on vacation … I am not the handful of family/friends of advanced ages who deal with failing health and bodies every day.
It’s Summertime on the island … and even if it’s for two weeks, I’m going to let go of all the frustrations and enjoy the hell out of it cuz I know – all too soon – it’s going to be 65 and cloudy again!