Sunday 8 September 2013

Contrary weather.

I suppose - all things being equal - I prefer a contrary climate to one which is absolutely predictable.   I wouldn't like it to be hot all the year round - the heat drives me crazy; and cold all the year round is equally bad.   Our friend and neighbour has just been to Canada for ten days for a wedding and it was so very hot - and so many mosquitoes - that he came home desperate for some temperate weather.   And yet that same place has heavy snow in Winter.

If I am honest, there is surely no more wonderful thing, weather wise, than a perfect Spring day here in the UK.   A day when the sun shines, the leaves are breaking on the trees, there is a gentle breeze,a smell of growth and the promise (even if it is not always fulfilled) of a pleasant Summer to come.

Autumn has arrived here in the Yorkshire Dales overnight.   We had a drop of twelve degrees from one day to the next, the Winter duvet has gone back on the bed, and last night the temperature was only four degrees.   Today it is ten - last week end it was twenty two.

And yet there is something lovely about Autumn too, isn't there?  The smell of dying leaves is not unpleasant, the smell of Autumn bonfires is lovely, the gathering of the wild crab apples, hazel nuts, blackberries and mushrooms makes us feel that we are getting something for nothing.   And we can put out of our minds the approaching Winter when it is only mid Seeptember, can't we?

Saltburn, which is near to where Denise (Mrs Nesbitt's space on my side bar) lives had a sudden flash flood on Friday when there was a gigantic down pour.   Cars were washed away, houses were flooded, debris, including whole trees, was washed down to the sea almost.

But this is what we get in a country where the weather is unpredictable.   Isn't it preferable to knowing that there will be three feet of snow, thick ice and temperatures of minus thirty (as there was in Almaty when I visited on holiday some years ago) every year?   Giant kindling stacks, triple glazing, huge wood burning stoves - but you still have to go out in it, don't you?

##Did anyone see the amazing Nigel Kennedy on Last Night of the Proms.   How marvellous to see and hear such a man who oozes musicality and genius on the one hand and yet takes all the stuffiness out of it by appearing in a tee shirt, with a cup of coffee in his hand.  Or would you rather he had stuck to the dress code?

8 comments:

jill said...

I could not live somewhere that there are no seasons I love the change, spring and autumn are my favourite times when it is nice and fresh not too hot and not too cold.xx

MorningAJ said...

I love autumn, even though it means that winter's on the way. I love hedgerow gathering and making jams and pickles with all the free food.

Willow said...

Welcome Autumn ~ and Nigel :)

Heather said...

I think Spring is my favourite season though each has it's benefits. We are certainly getting more 'interesting' weather lately. Somewhere in Cornwall had a huge hail storm the other day making it look as if 2 or 3 inches of snow had fallen.
I was cold in bed last night and the heavier quilt is going on tonight.
Sadly I missed Nigel Kennedy but did see part of the Proms programme. He is a true eccentric and such a talented musician with a great sense of humour.

Irene said...

I like spring and autumn and prefer them very much to summer and winter. I certainly would not enjoy the weather in Canada, as I do not like the extremes in it. I would also not enjoy being eaten alive by mosquitoes. I think the weather in the Netherlands is perfect right now and I am out there as much as I can.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

We have the almost perfect climate - rain and moderate (most of the time) storms in the winter, snow a couple weeks out of the whole winter usually, spring is long and drawn out - daffodils and tulips blooming for weeks, summer is moderate, sunny and we've only seen three mosquitoes this summer, and autumn is long like spring - leaves falling slowing and working its way gently to our winter - I know we are lucky - just a few miles from us there are flash floods in the winter - strong winds, more snow and colder temperatures. We realize how fortunate we are and appreciate every minute.

Autumn is not my favorite season - by a long shot - but I do like the canning, jam making, gathering, freezing vegetables and preparing for winter with all the hearty foods of summer.

Even when we lived in California we had a definite change of seasons and enjoyed them each.

Hildred said...

I will take Nigel Kennedy formal or informal, - he is a long time favourite. I love his Brahms Violin Concerto in D.

As for Canadian weather, Pat, - try British Columbia - the West Coast and even the Similkameen...

The Weaver of Grass said...

Seems we all like living somewhere where the seasons are defined. Even if this means it suddenly turns jolly cold (as it has done this week), it is better than predictable weather it seems. Thanks for calling.