Well, summer is here! And hopefully after all that rain in July, we'll have a lot of nice weather this month.

  I was shocked to see pictures of the north side of Izumo and Unnan after the heavy rains. Around my house, the rain was heavy, but I hadn't seen any flooding. However, one day Lake Shinji was about one meter from the street at the lower points of Route 9. I had never seen it so high. It was the first time in my life I have been afraid of the rain. Mother Nature is quite powerful. I was reminded that we are always at the mercy of our planet. I hope that you, your family, and your friends were all okay and didn't suffer any major property damage.

  Have you already had a Covid-19 vaccination? I recently received my ticket for the vaccination. I'm hoping to get my first shot sometime in August. I'm hoping this means I can go see my family in California sometime soon. This is the longest my parents have gone without seeing their grandchildren. And my daughter keeps asking me when she can see her cousins again.

  Not having an OLS BBQ this month sure makes this summer less exciting for my family. We bought some fireworks and ordered some sausage, and we plan to have a small family summer festival. What are you looking forward to doing this summer?

　さて、夏がやってきました！ 7月は大雨でしたが、天気がいい8月になるといいですね。

　大雨の後、出雲の北部と雲南の写真を見てショックを受けました。自分の家の周りもすごい雨でしたが、洪水にはなりませんでした。でも、ある日、宍道湖は大雨であふれそうで9号線の低いところからあと1メートルくらいで洪水になりそうでした。雨が怖いと思うのは人生で初めてでした。母なる自然は非常に力強いですね。私たちは常に天候のなすがままになることを改めて実感しました。皆さんのご家族、そしてお友達が全員無事で、被害に合っていないことを願っています。

　Covid-19ワクチン接種をもう受けましたか？この間、予防接種のチケットが届きました。 8月中に最初の接種が出来たらと思っています。ワクチンが済むと、近いうちにカリフォルニアに住む家族に会いに行けるかな？来年カリフォルニアに遊びに行けることを望んでいます。子供が生まれてからアメリカのジジババが孫に会えない最長記録です。そして、娘は「今度いついとこに会えるの？」と私にずっと聞いてます。

　今月はOLS BBQがないので、この夏は私の家族にとってそれほど刺激的な夏ではありません。花火を買ってソーセージを注文し、小さな家族の夏祭りを計画しています。皆さんはこの夏、何をするのを楽しみにしていますか？

Did you know…?

  Did you know that the really hot part of the summer when most people prefer to stay inside is referred to as the "dog days of summer"? What do you do to beat the heat during the dog days of summer? (i.e. How do you keep cool when it is so hot in the summer?). Staying in the Air Conditioning all day makes me tired, so I try to go outside in the late afternoon and early morning, and take a dip (i.e. swim) when I can. I also like to cool down with lots of cool fruit, smoothies, and ice water. And snow cones (kakigori) are great too!