Encroaching Brown

The island has decided that the rainy season is over. Many flowers are fading, and all the grasses are going to seed, turning brown, and dying off. You can see the blight of brown appearing on the peaks and creeping down the hillsides. It's daily progress is impressive.

We did have a good rainy season this year; I think there was less than 5 inches of measurable rain in 2007, and in 2008 we're over a dozen. The ponds, lakes and reservoirs in the interior are all full now, and the bison and deer populations should be well fed for the summer lean times. So while I complained about the mud we had to deal with over the winter, we're certainly thankful for the water. But now it's back to dust. As we were driving over to Avalon today, I was using the rear windshield wiper to clear the accumulating dust from rear window.

We were going to Avalon for Springfest, a peculiar little festival for the locals in support of various organizations (the high school, the Scouts, etc.). It was a weird vibe. Many people used it as an open market/garage sale. There were some games and a moon bounce (unclear what the money being collected was going to - maybe just the owner of the bounce), but we were there for charitable work. The Cub Scouts were selling baked goods for the Great American Bake Sale. Thing1 helped sell cookies for his allotted hour. Many of the goodies on the table disappeared in that time, some into us. Afterwards, Sweetie and Thing1 tried their hand at archery (the Scout booth), but we couldn't convince Thing2 to take a pony ride.

Speaking of animals, on the way there, we almost ran over a large (~3 ft) rattlesnake that was crossing the road. We stopped and got out and (using a looong stick) prodded the feisty reptile to the side of the road. It didn't rattle at us, but it was hissing. Shortly thereafter, we picked up two high school kids who were returning from a weekend of camping at Shark Harbor. They were hiking back to Avalon, but it's a long way, so we offered them a ride. The island being the island, we had some common acquaintances, and so had a pleasant conversation on the way.

Hmm. I guess that's something we'd never do on the other side of the channel...