Sunrise before the storm

We have steady winds and some bands of clouds moving in this morning as Rita passes below us. They are predicting increased thunderstorms and tides 2 to 4 feet higher than normal (significant in an area where the tidal range is less than 2 feet), and there are small craft advisories along the coast. For us, none of this has much impact, other than bracing to get rained on and possibly having one more day�s delay, but for the residents of low-lying areas, it is a blow that can barely be tolerated right now. Flood waters that only just receded are going to come bounding back in. It will probably only affect areas that get flooding in any storm (like a good bit of Slidell), but I doubt very much that they are ready for it. We�re talking about families, like Judy and Gary, who had just started to get a handle on the mud and muck; it is bound to be very disheartening.

I�ve heard that Houston is evacuating. Poor Marty! He�ll want to come home more than ever, I�m sure. I plan to talk to Chuck and Karen today and will post an update on their plans later.

In other news, Marjie soloed in the dinghy. That little boat is really pretty powerful � we used it to pull a sailboat back into the channel after he ran aground the other day, and it really scoots when you get it up on a plane � so Mom is nervous when the girls go out alone, but they are doing great. Like her sister, Marjie shows much more talent for parking than her mother.

The rats do not like the heat. They�ve become accustomed to getting sprayed down, however. Not that they truly enjoy it. Mezza flattens her ears and looks resigned when we spritz her. We also make sure to get them out in the breeze whenever possible. They enjoy scampering around the cockpit, with Mezza being especially ingenious about getting herself to areas we hadn�t intended for her to explore. She climbs down the cockpit shower hose to get from bench to floor, and she has discovered that she can jump down to the top step leading into the cabin, which pretty much gives her access to the whole boat. The bad part is, rats don�t forget once they�ve learned cool tricks like that, so we�ll have to watch her most carefully.

Frank will make a run up the bayou in the dinghy today to pick up our new water pump. It shouldn�t be difficult to install (famous last words, spoken by the one who doesn�t know engines), so we should be completely mobile again by end of day.

KQR