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| Our backyard woods are beautiful this time of year. |
Today is the last day of summer. That kind of snuck up on me.
After a summer filled with many sunny days and high temperatures and humidity, I don't think I am mentally prepared for the cool weather conditions that we have shifted into already.
I am happy to not have permanent heat exhaustion any more, although it was nice not needing bothersome things like clothes or blankets or supplemental heat for a few months.
That really simplifies things.
This was the second summer drought in the last 3 years in our area. Many of our neighbours had the unfortunate experience of having a well go dry, again. You can't run a household without water. No water, no home.
We had a bit of a deterioration in our well's water quality, but not in quantity. It came to taste so bad that we had to pick up an on-tap filter system.
Tomorrow is the Equinox, when day and night are roughly the same length. From then until December 22, the hours of darkness increase, while our time in the sun decreases. Temperatures will rapidly drop off.
I am beginning to come to terms with the change in season, again. Fifty-seven times I have been through this cycle, and it still feels like a surprise... or cruel joke. On the other hand, the woods changing colours, and brisk, crisp days, are something to be cherished.
We will just have to get used to getting fully dressed in the morning, after sleeping in a bed piled high with blankets. Wood stove, coats, gloves, toques (wool hats), and snow shoes now all have to be made ready.
Problem is, my head and heart are still lounging in the garden. Onions, potatoes, carrots, and beets are still in the ground. We will can pickled beets over the weekend, while the wind and wet blow around outside. The rest can stay out for a while longer, since average first frost in this spot is some time between October 1 and 10th.
Happy last day of summer to Northern Hemispherians. Happy last day of winter to our Southern Hemispherian friends. Welcome fall/spring equinox.
Here in Australia we count the new season as starting on the first of the month, so we have already had 21 days of spring, and loving it! Although for me, each equinox, with its warming up or cooling down of the weather, seems to come at just the right time, after a long winter or summer, then suddenly, a change! How wonderful! Enjoy the loveliness of autumn, and I will just pop back out and admire the daffodils and the apricot blossom:)
ReplyDeleteThe woods are beautiful there and your garden bountiful. Hoping the recent hurricane would bring some much needed moisture up there. We are having a hot and humid September in SC. But it is offering relief that the sun is hanging lower in the sky so it doesn't feel quite as hot as it is. We are welcoming some moments of autumn's crispness and some leaves are beginning to change colors ever so slowly. Thank you for translating "toques!" Happy autumn/spring everybody!
ReplyDeleteHappy Autumn! Our leaves are tinged with a bit of yellow and orange already. Unlike your drought we have had the wettest September on record in our area. (Thanks to the remnants of the last two hurricanes to hit the east coast.)
ReplyDeleteAfter a very hot and humid summer, I'm ready for the cooler weather. It's definitely my favorite time of year.
For some reason I already knew what a toque was (maybe from watching Canadian TV shows).