Slave to the weather

This is the third year in a row, according to the daily logs I keep in my private journal, that the weather has taken a subtle turn at the beginning of August. I first noticed the pre-autumn feel in the air a few days ago, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I could really confirm it— a high of 32° and an overnight low last night of 22°. And then this morning, I woke up to a wonderful sight: rain clouds. I hadn’t seen a hint of cloud in many months, but this morning the sky was full of them. Sadly, they burned off, and all we got out of it was about 20 seconds of light drizzle. Still though, it’s something. Autumn’s coming soon.

I was never obsessed about the weather when I lived in a climate-controlled country. 25 years in the Texas heat and it never really occurred to me to worry about it too much. After all, who cares? That’s what air-conditioners are for. If things get hot, you just go inside. No biggie.

Here, inside is as hot as out. The temperatures in July top out at about 50° (122°F), and all we have for company is a fan. I’ve learned some techniques about keeping cool, though— eight to ten cold showers everyday, and my favourite trick, a wet hand towel draped over me while I sit in front of the fan. It sounds impossible, but you learn to deal. You don’t get much done during the day, but you deal.

And having to suffer so much makes the end of summer just that much sweeter. I’ve always loved autumn anyway— a new school year, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. But when you combine the excitement of those things (which foreigners mostly have to celebrate on our own) with the relief of the weather getting cooler, it’s truly amazing. And it’s starting already. For the past several months I wouldn’t dare venture out until after dark, but last night I was able to surface at sunset and snap a few shots of the sunset over the neighbourhood water heaters… fantastic. It’ll be my favourite time of year soon.