Rain in Haiku

A rainy day in Haiku, Maui. The ocean is not visible today. 

When it rains, it’s not a cold, bitter rain and it’s not a monsoon rain.  It is, however, persistent.  And constant. Like a weed that wants to grow in a manicured lawn. You can keep clipping it back or pulling it out, but it is a force of nature.  Our house is alive when it rains and alive the rest of the time. It’s alive because everything else is so alive. The house does not separate us from the environment. It is part of nature here, and subject to the laws of entropy, only faster here than in Arizona or other dry places, and faster than in Vermont or other places with frosty winters.

The eucalyptus tree that is threatening to overtake our jungalow,
enjoying the rain. 

There is no yearly freeze that deters bugs and makes them hide away or hibernate. So the bugs get to live year round, and so do the plants. The wood of our house is alive, primarily because none of the roof boards were termite-treated in a vat of anti-termite goo that makes wood taste bad to termites. So the wood is changing day to day and piles of termite poop fall on counter tops and stove tops and in cracks and corners of the house, sometimes very brazenly on white area rugs. Although a lot less these days since the termite control people have been here.

Rain, rain, rain. Rejoice in the rain. We have had a week of steady rain. Rain that leaves puddles in the parking lot, and on paths around the jungalow to the outside washing machine. Rain that creates mud and muddy cat paw prints on the car, the windows, and on the deck. Rain that drives the bugs inside because they don’t want to be wet either. Rain that brings in large tropical cockroaches from outside because they want to be dry. Sigh. The rain that makes the weeds grow quickly and vigorously, the rain that makes the vines want to engulf the house. That kind of rain, Haiku rain. This IS the normal weather this time of year. 

Rainy papaya leaves. 

The joke at home is, "Do you think it might rain?" (It already has been raining for days.)

The other joke is, "Is it raining in Haiku?" This is a take-off of "Do bears sh-- in the woods?" (Of course, bears poop in the woods - where else would they poop? So it's a rhetorical question. Is it raining? Of course, it's raining. This is Haiku!)


Oahu and Kauai are getting flooded out... Kauai always gets flooded out, but it's more unusual on Oahu. There were some flash flood warnings for Maui today - be careful!  Don't drive over bridges that are overflowing with water - some tourists got washed away by crossing an overflowing bridge in Waihe'e one winter.