The Fine Season

 I love Miami and never want to live anywhere else, but, like Wifey, the heat and humidity of the long Summer bothers me more than it used to. I totally get the wisdom of the snowbirds -- a group we used to make fun of. They enjoy the milder weather up North, and return here for the glorious temps of Fall through Spring.

Thankfully, we're headed for the nicer temperatures. For the past few walks, my shirts are just sweaty -- not soaked through. A few mornings ago, after a night of rain, I actually felt just the hint of what I can call coolness. It didn't last.

I'd say about a quarter of the time, the weather is glorious by Halloween. I remember, especially, 2005. Hurricane Wilma hit, and knocked out our power. Wifey and the Ds decamped to Atlanta, to stay with Edna. I got a room at a local hotel to be able to have hot showers, but I didn't need to sleep there. The evenings were cool, and I happily slept with the windows open.

My friend Pat, who lived across the street, was also a post Wilma bachelor. His wife and kids decamped to Orlando. Pat and I would drink together on each other's porches, and talk of football and life, in the cool evening breeze. It is a very nice memory.

Today, following a short, for me walk, I came back home. The tree trimmers returned to fetch the large piles of debris the actual cutting crews left over their 2 days of work. After they left, I sat at my pond -- and realized I hadn't done that for months. The koi were all there, happily, as were the cichlids. The plecos had recovered from the pleco plague. It was strange -- when COVID started, several of the big algae eaters died. I'm sure it was just a coincidence. But the survivors thrived, and grew. A few of them are now 2 feet long, happily sucking away at the algae on the rocks, and the shells of the terrapins.

The sky was a gorgeous blue. The palms, nicely and professionally trimmed, looked stately. I had a sense that we're headed for the nicer time of the year.

Last night we had a nice Zoom, with Eric, Dana, and Kenny. We talked about politics, and COVID, of course, but also of fun memories of places we've been. The large vodka martini washed over me well -- Wifey wants me to drink every day for the mood it puts me in. Nah. A few times per week seems to do the trick.

Today we'll head up to D1 and Joey's, to play with the grandson. I'm leaving a house that gets the ACC network, where I could watch my Canes play Pitt, to go to a house where it's not on TV. I may try to get it on an APP, but being a grandfather trumps being a Cane fan, forgiving the word, trump.

We'll probably take the baby over to Biscayne Bay -- to feel the breezes and have him be with the souls of his late great grandparents, including my Dad, whose name is the baby's middle name.

The virus is awful. It's affected all of us in bad ways. But if you're stuck, there are far worse places to be stuck than Miami. Especially with the weather turning.