Austin Myth #1: It's Dry

Day: 299
High Temp: 89F

I feel like I should address a myth that is running rampant in our country. People think Texas is hot and dry.  That is only half true, at least here in Austin.  It is certainly hot.  We have already experienced triple digit highs, and for the past few weeks it has consistently been hitting ninety degrees or higher each day. However, in my experience the fall, winter and spring are every bit as wet as they were in St. Louis (and more so than in Chicago). And in the fall and spring, it is also pretty damn humid.

The hill country may be an anomaly in Texas, but it is quite green, with huge live oaks, palm trees and lots of lush lawns mixed in with the expected prickly pears, cacti and succulents. And I am not just referring to the well-kept lawns of the middle and upper class. The wild landscape all around Austin is genuinely green. It is, indeed, the last bastion of flora before you hit the desolate and barely living landscape of West Texas, the part of the state which seems to have lent the rest of us it reputation for dry, dessert-like conditions.

It is true that by the time we get to the end of the summer we will get very little rain, and likely experience a drought. It will continue to be hot, and with the lack of rain, water bans will undoubtedly be put in place. Car washes will close their doors, business that fail to turn off and drain their fountains will be ticketed in violation of the water ban, and homeowners will only be able to water their lawns once a week (and by that point, it's not enough, so you might as well just give it up and let your lawn die.) It will be hot, and it will be dry, and we will pray for rain. This happened last summer, and when it finally did rain, there was a great celebration (see pics of that first blessed rain storm here). But this hot and dry weather really only seems to last for 2-3 months maximum. Slowly, as we inch towards October, and temperatures drop back into the eighties, it will become rainy and humid once more.

Of course, I am not sure any weather is ever typical here in Austin. I have been told that the spring was much more temperate than it normally is, that normally it would be genuinely and consistently HOT as early as April. I guess my point is that, in my short experience here, the majority of the weather in Austin is marked by rain and humidity. It just doesn't seem fair for all of you to think, "Sure, it's hot in Austin, but at least it's not as humid as it is here."

When do you become a Texan?

Day: 34
High Temp: 86F
Job Status: Unemployed
Jobs Applied to: 4

We have officially surpassed the month anniversary of our arrival in Texas. To tell you the truth, I cant believe it has been that long. We have had Homer for 3 weeks now, and are starting slowly to accept the annoying quirks of living in a huge apartment community. Having reached this milestone, I began to wonder when, if ever, I would feel like I had become a Texan.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Texans make a huge deal about the pride feel for their state. I am definitely not there yet. I mean, I still think it's a very nice state, but honestly, I've seen better. So, are you not really a Texan until you feel that sense of pride? Until you are happy to boast on vacations and family gatherings about how you are from Texas? I actually find it kind of embarrassing.

My cute Mazda, Elly, has Texas license plates. Does that make me a Texas? They are bright and bold, and have the shape of the state and the lone star prominently displayed. Texas plates... does that make me a Texan? We are thinking about getting one of the ubiquitous Longhorn decals that everyone has on the back of thier car. Will that make us Texans?

Technically, I know I am a Texan, as my address tells me so. But as "fall" creeps closer here in the great state of Texas, and the high temps continue to reach the mid 80's or higher, I am just not sure I can ever really feel at home here. I walked out the door the other morning around 10am to take Homer for his morning walk, and thought it felt much more like the beginning of summer, than the onset of fall. The leaves aren't really changing, and I am not sure they ever will. And even though it has definitely been cooling down, there is certainly no crisp, distinct chill in the air. I am not sure I can ever feel truly at home in a place that doesn't have seasons.

It is also worth mentioning that since returning to Texas from my visit to St. Louis last week, I have been feeling really homesick. The odd thing is, I am not sure if I am missing St. Louis or Chicago. I had the most depressed feeling as my parents drove me to the airport, and I tried to accept the fact that flying "home" meant flying to Austin, and not Chicago. The only comfort there was that I was flying back to Tom, and truth be told, he is really the main factor in my definition of home.

So, Texan or not, it is here that I will try to make my home, at least for the next 3 years. Hopefully, at some point, it will feel like where I belong.

We're setting records

Day: 11

High Temp: 104F

Job Status: Unemployed

Today we officially celebrated our 66th day topping 100 degrees in 2009. This makes 2009 the second hottest summer on record in Austin. If we make it to 69 days, we will take the top spot from the summer of 1925. Welcome to Austin.

Now of course, Tom and I have been luck to spend a majority of our summer in the tempreate great lakes region, but it is worth noting that each day since we arrived has bee 100 or hotter. Most of you know it is hot here in Texas, and I am sure many of you have heard that this area of the country has been hit by a pretty big drought. Water restrictions are in effect, and many local crops are on the brink.

This explains why yesterday evening's brief afternoon rain was greeted with such joy. It lasted no longer than 15 minutes, but it was a storm welcomed unlike any storm I have ever seen before. Tom and I had walked up to the lovely local organic grocery spot, Farm to Market, to grab a jar of salsa and an avocado to round out the evening's dinner and were taking our time walking back, stopping in a few local stores on our way home. We were in a really excellent antique/junk shop called Uncommon Objects when the store keeper shouted, "Hey everyone! It's raining!" Reacting to our cue, everyone dropped what they were doing to rush outside and revel in the falling drops.

Having baked and boiled ourselves for the past several days, we too enjoyed the rain, and strolled leisurely towards home. I have never seen people so happy for rain. Those walking on the sidewalks seemed to slow down, in an effort to let as many of the drops as possible hit them. Everyone looked at each other with these huge smiles, as if saying, "Look at that, it's raining! How great!"

About halfway there, it really started to pick up, and we ran the rest of the way home, excited to get to the overhang of our balcony to observe the rain as it fell on the live oaks in our courtyard (see pics below). Many of our neighbors joined us out on the balconies to witness the deluge, one guy commenting that he would be okay with two straight weeks of rain.

It was a serious, if brief, summer rain storm, but what came after was perhaps even more miraculous. Instead of the hot, humid conditions that often follow summer rain in the