It’s a trite old saying proven true … timing is everything in life.
Some of you may have been shocked by this week’s drizzle that expanded into a midday shower and then broke loose with that misplaced thunderstorm that left water standing in the garden.
If the unseasonal rain caught you unaware on an excursion into the mountain or in the midst of an afternoon garden party you should have called for my forecast. While a full-blown storm cell, complete with thunder and lightning is indeed a rare occurrence this time of year, and daytime rain is not common here, even in the summer rainy season, I couldn’t have been less surprised.
It’s not as if I have physic powers. I knew I was tempting fate when last fall I contracted to repair and paint all of the ceilings and walls in the house. The contractor was adamant when he cautioned me to renovate the roof first. But, I was anxious to see the rich colors I’d selected in full bloom on the walls of the house and everyone knows it doesn’t rain between November and May.
I understand that salitre eats away at the plaster on walls. Actually it marks the places where moisture seeps through cracks and crumbling grout, oozes under the flat tiles of an aging roof surface and then congregates at the lowest point in the wall. Only time will reveal if enough layers were completed on the unfinished new roof to create a waterproof barrier. Over the next weeks and months I’ll be scanning my beautifully painted walls for the beginning signs of salitre.
This week’s unusual weather surely proves that while it’s not wise to ignore a contractor’s warning, it’s pure folly to double dare Mother Nature.