Change of Scene

The first weekend in June: that’s when all the tourists/summer visitors usually are noticeably with us. And it was pretty noticeable today. The International Market had lots of people, even at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, and they were buying lots of food. Planning to stay awhile, or at least eat a lot while here. The roadsides were almost cluttered with folks out for a walk, a jog, a run, a stroll, and they were all wearing shorts and sleeveless tops, or a little less. One lady in a bikini top.

The air last night and tonight smelled of barbecued meats. This is summer, indeed. And for inexplicable reasons, the sunny weather has continued, though the temperatures have dropped some. But three weeks without rain at this time of year is strange indeed. A Seattle meteorologist reported a very unusual red/orange sunset earlier this week. Our neighbor reported awakening last night at 1:15 a.m. just in time to see the moon fairly low in the sky, in the south, transiting a red/orange sky. If it weren’t such lovely weather, you might think we were getting messages of end times. But probably, we are just giddy with summer after our long, cold winter and spring, and giddier yet with all these people bouncing around us on bicycles and horses and in sandals and bathing suits. They’re all so talkative! I get to thinking through the winter that I’m living among the kind of people that Garrison Keillor describes as inhabiting Lake Wobegon: taciturn Norwegians (or, in our case, Icelanders).

When I went to the market, I was wearing a long-sleeved silk shirt covered by a jacket. This is to demonstrate, I guess, that I am an actual resident and not a fly-by-night, good-time-Charlie visitor in a bathing suit. Nevertheless, we barbecued a little chicken.