Michael: The Faucet is off

How did the white moth
Know the dusty cowboy hat
Would camouflage him?

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Summer is here. It hasn’t rained in a week. People were telling us mid December, but I had read on the net that El Nino was going to bring drier weather to Panama and apparently the forecasters are starting off on the right foot. Back home in California, I haven’t heard that they’re getting the relief they need just yet from the prolonged drought, but hopefully snow and rain are on their way.

During this rainy season we were fortunate to always make it home without ever getting caught out in a downpour. We pushed it to the edge several times and were scrambling up our dirt road just ahead of getting soaked, but our intuition and good luck somehow saw through.
We also got by without a humidifier. It did feel a wee bit damp at times, but we never felt wet or uncomfortable. And if we washed our clothes early enough and gave them all morning to dry, they did.

There were also only three days where we weren’t able to get out in the morning and exercise because of the rain. Otherwise, the rainy season was just as all the books, net, and people here told us it would be; dry in the morning and rainy in the afternoon.

What they didn’t tell us is that it gets incrementally colder as the rainy season wears on. At the end I was seriously considering looking for a small space heater. Although we weren’t shivering, we were bundled up from head to toe every morning waiting for sunrise and some relief from the chill. It could be that we’re just Southern California wimps, but it sure is a great to have the afternoon sun to push the evening chill back until we’re tucked cozily into our warm bed.

I also wasn’t expecting that the rainy season would have a S.A.D. effect. I figured being so close to the equator, sunrise and sunset would change very little during the year and I’d miss the gloomy mood that sets in as winter works it way deeper into the light in North America. And though technically that’s true, the continual daily cloud cover and increasing cold here, does a pretty good job of mimicking a Southern California winter.

But the rainy season seems to be behind us now and the hard winds that greeted us last year in January haven’t arrived yet. At this moment, the weather is just about as perfect as any earthling could ask for.