Winter turns to summer

Well, the summer seemed gone a few days ago. While it had not rained since mid May, suddenly it rained. The sky was as light as noon from three in the morning to four in the morning. The lightning was (almost) unbelievable. Hail came down, hurting the grapes that had not yet been harvested in neighboring Ribera, as well as the developing citrus crop. We lost power with the frequency of a Banana Republic Governor in the bad old days.

The next day, the waves came in, covering the beach with white water, and leaving piles of seaweed on what had been a sandy expanse before. Gone were the summer people, safely back in Palermo, where they had to deal with flooded streets, underpasses turned to swimming pools, and driving conditions more impossible than usual. In other words, it was winter at its worst. It even cooled down enough to use a blanket on the bed, when the thunder did not keep me awake. The wind was bad enough so that I could not even sit out on the terrace to watch the magical light show without getting wet.

Two days later, it is summer again. The views are from Vega de Mullo in the San Michele district of Sciacca. Yes, that is indeed Capo San Marco in the distance, including the apartments in which I live. The beach is still covered with seaweed, but I can live with that, and the beauty.