So far, the weather has supported our observance of the Celtic view of the seasons, marking the beginning of each at its beginning rather than midpoint. For us, it’s summertime, and the weather backs us up. Except for a few brief rain showers, our weather has been gloriously sunny, and quite warm. The forecast calls for a really warm day Thursday: early on they said 73° but that’s risen steadily to a current prediction of 77°!
We’re making the most of it, spending lots of time outside. I’m working to cut up the green section of a fallen birch so that I can stack it on the beach to dry in the sun and wind. Some of the greenest wood that’s been out there just over a week is almost dry enough to burn now. I’m also fishing a lot, although the bright sunshine is making that a bit more difficult. Since the fish we target don’t have eyelids, they tend to go deeper on sunny days. Even so, casting is a lot more pleasant in warm sunshine than cold wind and rain.
The clear skies and warmth are beginning to make us giddy. We’re beginning to discuss local swimming holes around the dinner table. And the forecast calls for a 20% chance of a true rarity in Southeast Alaska: thunderstorms. I don’t like the idea of lightning near the homestead, what with our wind generator sticking up so high on a metal pole and all, but almost all the lightning we’ve seen here has struck over the Coast Range across Lynn Canal, truly an impressive sight!
While we love the dry, sunny weather, we’re wary. Last year, we ran out of water; we don’t want that to happen again. The summer water tank is still full to overflowing, but I recently checked the winter water tank and found no signs that it has refilled yet. Recent rains have been so light that they probably didn’t soak down to the retaining dam at all. This concerns us, but not too much. Last year the last meaningful rain of the spring and summer fell in early April. We’ve done much better than that so far. For now, it looks like our main concern is enjoying the summer weather as much as possible.