Long Hot Summer
In the South, June is summer, not spring. We expect June to be warm. Now warm means from about 80 to 90. It is hot from 90 on up. Starting at 96 it is f*#%)*! hot. Summer is supposed to be warm or hot. A little bit of f*#%)*! hot is ok in August, in fact most of August is that very thing.
This year we are having July weather in June. No rain for about 3 weeks, daytime temps running 92-94. Too hot too soon. Following patterns this means that this year might be the one in about 15 we have with a string of days over 100. When that happens it is about all we talk about.
"Hot enough for you"? we ask, as if the heat had melted our brains. "Could be worse" is often the answer. Could it be? Really? Everyone gets heat headaches. People die. Yes really, they do, they die.
A few years ago it rained every single day in August. It was over 95 every one of those days. Steam poured up from roofs and roads. My decking got slimy and green. The grass in the front yard was waist high. The humidity was so high the AC units could not keep the interior levels under 70%. Crepe Myrtles keep blooming like demented plants from the Amazon. The kudzu was amazing. It grew across phone lines and secondary roads. I think I may have seen an anaconda in the pool. When we started growing webs between our toes I thought maybe we had all died and been sent to an alternate reality version of hell.
So thats how it is. Too hot, too dry or too wet. Too muggy, too much.
But I have been to the perfect summer, the summer of novels and movies, the summer of beaches and sunshine and breezes. Now I am going to close my eyes and pretend I am in Montauk. The sun is pure and the light is crystal clear. The sand is hot but the sea is cool. A breeze lifts my clothing from my skin and whips my hair into my face. Gulls wheel and call above me. I open my eyes and look out, water to the end of the world. Paradise.
This year we are having July weather in June. No rain for about 3 weeks, daytime temps running 92-94. Too hot too soon. Following patterns this means that this year might be the one in about 15 we have with a string of days over 100. When that happens it is about all we talk about.
"Hot enough for you"? we ask, as if the heat had melted our brains. "Could be worse" is often the answer. Could it be? Really? Everyone gets heat headaches. People die. Yes really, they do, they die.
A few years ago it rained every single day in August. It was over 95 every one of those days. Steam poured up from roofs and roads. My decking got slimy and green. The grass in the front yard was waist high. The humidity was so high the AC units could not keep the interior levels under 70%. Crepe Myrtles keep blooming like demented plants from the Amazon. The kudzu was amazing. It grew across phone lines and secondary roads. I think I may have seen an anaconda in the pool. When we started growing webs between our toes I thought maybe we had all died and been sent to an alternate reality version of hell.
So thats how it is. Too hot, too dry or too wet. Too muggy, too much.
But I have been to the perfect summer, the summer of novels and movies, the summer of beaches and sunshine and breezes. Now I am going to close my eyes and pretend I am in Montauk. The sun is pure and the light is crystal clear. The sand is hot but the sea is cool. A breeze lifts my clothing from my skin and whips my hair into my face. Gulls wheel and call above me. I open my eyes and look out, water to the end of the world. Paradise.
posted by DarkMirror | 12:23 PM
2 Comments:
ahhhh...Paradise...is there 0% humidity there? If so, I'm in!
It gets humid in Montauk but the cool ocean breeze more than makes up for it so it's never uncomfortable. We refer to it as "Mon-dawg" where I'm from though. I guess my accent's a little funny.
The lighthouse there is beautiful, and it is so peaceful to sit by the water, watch the waves, and see the lobster boats and ferries coming and going. Paradise indeed!
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