Rain, rain, go away.

Two big items in the news as another result of the gigantic hurricane season we are experiencing.

1. The seafood in the gulf states is in question currently. It is a known fact that 50-60% of the oyster beds have been wiped out and shrimping has taken a huge hit also. Oysters and shrimp have not only been affected because of the hurricane, but they've also been affected by receding flood waters out of New Orleans. The waters that have filled the gulf coast are extremely toxic and fish coming out of the area will not be able to be sold for human consumption for quite some time. Most retailers and restaurants were assured supplies would be plentiful because of the gulf area of Texas. Hmmm, can we see Rita coming? Fish out of the gulf is going to be scarce.

2. Raisins. Good old California raisins. Now is the time that raisin growers are putting their fully ripened crop on paper lined trays and setting them out to dry. The next few days are crucial to get a good crop and have it dried so it can packaged and sent ot stores throughout the US and Canada. However, there was an unexpected hurricane (Max) off the coast of Baja in the past week. It worked its way up the coast and inland parts of California and yesterday and dumped huge amounts of unexpected rain throughout the state. Raisin growers are praying this is the last of the rains we'll see in the next few weeks. If not, there may be a shortage of raisins this year. There are still two other hurricanes out there on the pacific coast to be concerned about right now. We are hioping we can return to our normal Indian summer weather we usually see this time of year. No fog please!