Goodbye, Summer
October is here, with all that implies for us. Today is still sunny, but the nights bite you on the nose already, and the fog that forms in the early morning is a sign of crisp temperatures. Nights are getting longer, mornings come later. For this weekend regular fall weather is forecast, rain.
Fall weather here is characterized by rain, with a few days of sun popping up around the calendar. Actually, that's the weather of fall, winter, and spring. And, occasionally, summer, like this year. Storms that arise just offshore, screaming at us with wind and hammering rain. Or fronts that approach and simply move from south to north without any easterly variation, granting us entire weeks of simpering, misty rain. We shouldn't complain, this weather is what gives us the moisture to keep us green. But, it's so monotonous!
One of the things I miss about fall in Boston are the clouds of color when I used to look at a wooded hill. There were oranges, reds, yellows, and browns mixed with tired summer green. Sometimes I will see red flames in a garden, from an imported miniature tree or climbing vine. But the only fall colors are yellow and brown. The yellow will be on the grape arbors and the chestnut trees. Not vibrant, though, because the frosty nights don't come very often in fall. The browns will be on oak trees later on, in December. They'll be dirty browns, without any glamour. The ferns will turn mostly yellow, then rusty brown, until yellow-green shoots poke through their bowed ranks in spring. The eucalyptus and pine trees will keep their green coats on, though, constrasting with the naked limbs of other trees.
Gradually, it'll turn cooler, and the stove will have to be lit. Evenings and nights of stuffing firewood into its shining jaws of fire. I'll be loath to leave its warm side to go to bed at night. Another chore will be remembering to bring in firewood in the afternoon while there's light to see in the barn. And making sure I bring in enough without having to make a trip outside after dark.
Oh, and the layers of clothes! I like sweaters in the fall, but I hate having to put on layer after layer when I get up in the morning. In the summer it's so simple! Just pop a t-shirt over my head, pull up a pair of shorts, and slip-ons on my feet and I'm ready for the day. But in the winter there are undershirts, overshirts, long pants, socks, tie-up shoes, and time before I'm ready. And, meanwhile, I shiver.
I've often thought about moving with the seasons, but my bank-account doesn't concur. I would head for the north in summer, and the tropics in winter. I would love the long days of the north without excessive summer heat, and a few months of tropical laziness in the winter, where at least I wouldn't have to worry about the cold. But it's already October and I haven't won a multi-million euro lottery, so it'll have to be another winter here for me.
Fall weather here is characterized by rain, with a few days of sun popping up around the calendar. Actually, that's the weather of fall, winter, and spring. And, occasionally, summer, like this year. Storms that arise just offshore, screaming at us with wind and hammering rain. Or fronts that approach and simply move from south to north without any easterly variation, granting us entire weeks of simpering, misty rain. We shouldn't complain, this weather is what gives us the moisture to keep us green. But, it's so monotonous!
One of the things I miss about fall in Boston are the clouds of color when I used to look at a wooded hill. There were oranges, reds, yellows, and browns mixed with tired summer green. Sometimes I will see red flames in a garden, from an imported miniature tree or climbing vine. But the only fall colors are yellow and brown. The yellow will be on the grape arbors and the chestnut trees. Not vibrant, though, because the frosty nights don't come very often in fall. The browns will be on oak trees later on, in December. They'll be dirty browns, without any glamour. The ferns will turn mostly yellow, then rusty brown, until yellow-green shoots poke through their bowed ranks in spring. The eucalyptus and pine trees will keep their green coats on, though, constrasting with the naked limbs of other trees.
Gradually, it'll turn cooler, and the stove will have to be lit. Evenings and nights of stuffing firewood into its shining jaws of fire. I'll be loath to leave its warm side to go to bed at night. Another chore will be remembering to bring in firewood in the afternoon while there's light to see in the barn. And making sure I bring in enough without having to make a trip outside after dark.
Oh, and the layers of clothes! I like sweaters in the fall, but I hate having to put on layer after layer when I get up in the morning. In the summer it's so simple! Just pop a t-shirt over my head, pull up a pair of shorts, and slip-ons on my feet and I'm ready for the day. But in the winter there are undershirts, overshirts, long pants, socks, tie-up shoes, and time before I'm ready. And, meanwhile, I shiver.
I've often thought about moving with the seasons, but my bank-account doesn't concur. I would head for the north in summer, and the tropics in winter. I would love the long days of the north without excessive summer heat, and a few months of tropical laziness in the winter, where at least I wouldn't have to worry about the cold. But it's already October and I haven't won a multi-million euro lottery, so it'll have to be another winter here for me.
You captured all my feelings including those about Boston. Nice writing.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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