Crisp vs. Moist

We have had way too much dry this summer, as well as too much hot. The opposite of dry is that most-disliked word moist. Along with all the hot and dry we have also had quite a bit of moist--moist, humid air, moist, sweaty skin--but also some very good moist zucchini bread made by daughter E, mostly in the freezer. I am tempted to thaw a muffin every time I am in the garage!

But another good opposite for moist, I think, is crisp--a fine word, often used in positive contexts. We want our bacon for our BLT's hot and crisp. The red grapes we purchased last week were cold and crisp. Chips are crisp and crunchy. And then there is the crunch of leaves in the fall, the crisp fall air, crisp new apples and even crisp apple crisp!

But it seems crisp had come a little early this year--crisp, dry lawns are not a good thing. And some trees were just giving up on supporting a full canopy, dropping browned and crisped leaves.

(There must be many good examples of crisp besides food and vegetation, but off the top of my head, I can only think of crisp writing and crisp linen shirts (or frocks)).

Anyway, recently the heavens decided to open the flood gates and pour down day after day of rain upon us. My sandy ground easily soaked up the recent four + inches, and now everything is moist again. Friend O. measured over 6 inches in her rain gauge.

Other parts of the country, especially in Louisiana, sadly, are beyond moist ... all the way to underwater.

Life often comes in extremes and we never understand why. It supposedly rains on the just and the unjust, but why does so much seem so arbitrary, uneven--even random? We say, "nature can be cruel," and we speculate about whether God is pushing any buttons "up there."

Whatever the weather, as long as I can escape to a cool, dry house, I should not complain. As a plant lover, however, I guess I kinda like moist--outside!

But I am really looking forward to some cool, fall crisp!

Just as I was about to post this, with a photo of more moist, after actual tornadoes touched down here in West Michigan, and after a large tree was completely uprooted across the street, OUR POWER WENT OUT--for about 21 hours. Fortunately the storm brought a temporary cool front and we survived on Chinese and pizza takeout for the day. But it was a boring day. and of course, I could not post this post.

By the time of this posting, the tree across the street, and the branch blocking our sidewalk were removed by the city. No one was killed in this storm, although a few houses and cars were damaged by falling tree debris. But hundreds of West Michigan trees lost more than a few crisp dry leaves!

So, what is it? Crisp or moist?