It's been raining since around noon, it's 7:30 now and we've had rain almost every day for quite some time.
Are we going to need to build an ark? I'm beginning to wonder.
Last year I had a booth at the fair and lost money hand over fist because it rained almost the entire time. I had a brand new, heavy-duty tent fresh from Sam's Club (the only place in Fairbanks you can buy such a tent, gotta love small towns) and it leaked from the get-go. Argh.
So right now I am very happy and glad for two things: 1) My house has a sound roof, and I never take a thing like that for granted, and 2) I did not sign up to do the fair this year. Been there, done that!
Midnight Sun Festival, our huge Summer Solstice party held in the downtown area, was almost a bust due to rain. I had to set my tents up in the rain at 7am, and stack all my boxes of gear and stock, tables, and signs under them and just sit there until it stopped raining. It stopped around 11:30. Thank goodness! After that the weather was fine. It wasn't the really hot, hot summer weather we usually get at the festival, but it was nice, and I even got a little sunburn across my cheeks and nose.
Meanwhile it's still raining today. Mushrooms are popping up all over and the trees look droopy.
Sofia detests mud and squishy ground, so she only wants to do commando-raid trips outside. Ole doesn't care, he's fairly oblivious and easy-going. Me, I hate wearing socks! But in the rain I have to wear shoes with socks, instead of sandals, dang it. Life is rough, eh?
I have heard that this excess moisture is from La Niña, the little sister of El Niño. Instead of drying things out, the way El Niño does, it makes things wetter. We must have had this condition last year, too, considering the river that was running through my fair booth.
After living in Eugene, Oregon for almost a decade, I get anxious if it rains more than 24 hours. I believe it's a from of Post Traumatic Stress. Seriously. In Eugene, you can go for months without seeing the sun. That's a terrifying thought for me. Give me darkness split with brilliant skies, that's how winter is in Alaska. Being covered in gray clouds for months at a time is like being smothered. No thank you! I need to see the sun, daily if at all possible!
If I have to build an ark, I'm going to float South. And I"m not bringing any mosquitoes!
