Blame it on the Rain
Cisterns are full. Bike riding means droplets of mud splattered on my back and ankles, due to unavoidable puddles. The one between Blackbeard's Lodge and Secret Garden Gallery is deep enough for an alfresco bath, decided one group of tourists.
Early each morning, and sometimes during my afternoon nap, I am awakened by rain beating against my roof. I think about my laundry still hanging on the line, getting its second or third rinse. I think about the car window I left cracked, and the poor aloe that I put outside to get some sun, which seems to instead be drowning.
A long time visitor told me she'd never seen the island look so lush and green in August. Another tourist said to me, "Ten years from now this island is going to be too crowded." But that's a different story.
Micah Bassell, owner of TLC Landscaping, said he's mowing like crazy, and hasn't seen this much rain in August.
Ocracoke weather guru Dale Mutro told me I'm crazy to think it's been raining a lot. "We've had a little over six inches of rain this month. That's nothing special," he said. "It's a little above normal. We've certainly had more in the past."
A few overcast days in a row may create the perception that it's been raining a lot, said Dale, but nothing newsworthy is going on, weather-wise.
Dale suggested that the best way to find something to write about is to hang out at the Post Office between 3 and 5 p.m., and listen.
