Storms? They come and go

A tropical wave moved through this morning, dropping an inch of rain, and then going north -- you can see it here heading out to the Florida Straits, and the wet walkway on the water at North Roosevelt.

I was on my way to Stock Island to return the raccoon cage. By the time I got back to the house, the sun had come out and the temperature had gone from 81 to 87 in about a half-hour.

"I love afternoon storms," said Matt, the electrician. "They get everything so cool for evening. But these morning ones. ... " If you've felt the sauna that the rest of the day becomes, you can finish the sentence yourself.

Tuesday we had high winds of another sort: Tropical Storm Ref blew onto the site midday for the first time since his surgery. After he checked out the progress, there were strong gusts of the "what carpenter school did you go to?" variety -- Category 2 at least -- and Juan decided he ought to move along. Ref assured me that I shouldn't worry: His brothers are coming in to pick up some slack.

This afternoon we even had a couple hours around his kitchen table to establish a new season forecast. He thinks we're still on course, all things considered.