Rain continues

Rains continue on almost a daily basis and I'm not complaining because I know that summer time (dry season) will be coming along soon. Weather patterns are very erratic in this region. Some summers we go 3-4 weeks without a rain (August through December) and other years, the drought is more severe. Year before last, for example, we didn't see rain at the Bosque for a four month period. Last year, dryness prevailed for only three months. Weather forecasts indicate that 2007 will be a "normal" year, whatever that means. I've also seen reports that rains will continue through July. I took the attached image yesterday. This is our largest mud hole on the three kilometers of dirt road into Bosque Santa Lúcia. It's not as bad as it looks because the bottom has been reinforced with some dump trucks of gravel. I remember years past when I had to leave my vehicle on Santarém-Cuiaba Highway, BR-163, and then walk in and out. I also remember when BR-163 was a mud hole, itself. It's not much better today because large open craters in the asphalt subject drivers to the risks of having to zigzag from one side of the road to the other in order to avoid serious damage to their vehicles. Come summer time, the holes will be patched up with rock and asphalt. In the meanwhile, we drive at our own risk!