Tuesday, August 5, 2008

On strike for a shorter winter

Tuesday finds me looking for a way to put a positive spin on the fact that winter blues are six feet thick ... yes, it's August! One longs for day-long blue skies and weather that invites you to go and get lost in some national park. (Well, to be fair, it would be just as easy to become immersed in the national park in August, but I don't know that I'd do it without full foul weather gear!)

It would be true to say, winter is starting to outstay its welcome. A bit.

But (positive-spin-wise; now, is that deosil or widdershins, when you're in the southern hemisphere?) the hills are green as Ireland, the reservoirs are steadily filling up, thank gods, and everything in the world is in bloom (kerchoo). If it was a measly little 20 degrees (F) warmer, you wouldn't be hearing these whining noises! The tradeoff for the green hills is temps around 35 degrees overnight, and maybe 55 as a daytime high ... and by August, every year, you've forgotten the the summer heat.

Short memories, that's our problem. Four months from now we'll be like this:



Very picturesque, and all. In fact, so picturesque, here's another one:


Ahhh ... memories of summer, drifing back. And hour here and there at the beach, hunk-watching ... and the "cafe culture cruising people," (good grief, the acronym, Carruthers!) who sit under the big umbrellas and watch the stuff that's strutting past in. uh, assorted wet spandex.

And summer brings its own rewards, various events which take some beating, when you think about it ...

I leave you with this thought: there is a reason one watches bike races.

We go to look at the bicycles, right? Right.






(Not quite the Tour de France ... in fact, the Tour Downunder. Pictures are clickable, if you'd like a closer view. At the bicycles, that is.)

1 comment:

Gaycrow said...

I'm so with you about this winter.

It's very easy to forget those terrible 15 days of over 36C, isn't it!

I don't know what's worse ... these awful gray skies, with such cold mornings, or the weeks on end of high temperatures.

I'd settle for a couple of warm sunny days while I'm deciding, thanks. :-)

I spent an hour or so last night looking at Google maps. The pictures were taken during summer, and the contrast between the green lawns/parks/footpaths we have now, and the dry brown dust/dead lawns we had then is remarkable.

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