Wednesday 19 January 2022

Busy old fool

  1. Busy old fool indeed - I can't remember a January when the sun shone so much - day after day for the last ten days or so we have had wall-to-wall sunshine.  It can't of course last for ever and there is still February to come - but it is a short month and by the time March arrives we know that whatever the winter throws at us it will not be for long because it will be getting warmer and more importantlylighter.

And I was thinking today as I did my walk round , how lucky I am to live in a temperate climate and at the latitude I do.   I am not a hot weather person so I would hate to live in a tropical place and one where the weather (give or take climate change) is more or less predictable.

The nearest I have been to 'hot ' is North Africa and much of my time there was spent  up in the mountains.   But I have been above the Arctic Circle and - wearing a good anorak - I found that (on midsummer's day) quite pleasant.

Of course there is also the matter of hours of daylight and darkness but that too I find so much better in our temperate climate.   Sitting having a coffee in a street cafe at midnight in Tromso in the daylight was an experience and watching Alexander Armstrong in Iceland  at midnight in the daylight was interesting.   But then  one has to contrast that with the opposite - in winter it barely gets light.

No, I don't know about you but my feeling is 'all things in moderation'' .   See you tomorrow.

 

24 comments:

Chris said...

I found your comment about the temperate climate interesting. Here in Toronto we are on the same latitude as the south of France but have extremes of climate due to our location in the path of the Arctic vortex. Yesterday it was -17C. Today it was +3C. In the summer it can be very hot and humid.

Tom Stephenson said...

I love the seasons, or at least that we have them.

marlane said...

I wonder if there is a place to live in the world that has a "perfect " climate ?

Heather said...

I think we are fortunate in our climate, even though we so often complain about it. I cannot bear humid weather or extreme heat, neither of which we have for any great length of time. In winter I enjoy wrapping up warm and usually our spring and autumn months are just comfortable.
I enjoy seeing the seasons gradually change and find that each one has it's own merits.

Susan said...

I like 4 distinct seasons and can not imagine myself living in the tropics where it is hot/warm all the time. That said, in the dead of winter I have been known to enjoy a vacation in a warm weather climate. Our winter can be long and brutal with snow, ice and cold.

Granny Sue said...

We used to have a reasonable climate, but lately the summers get way too hot. Still, I do love the pronounced differences in seasons and would not want to live where I didn't experience that.

Helsie said...

I live in subtropical Brisbane, Australia and often lament ( and very loudly too) on our lack of seasons. It's either hot or cool here with maybe two weeks changeover between the seasons. At the moment we are experiencing a mild Summer due to El Nino which means it's rainy. Heavenly rain to give us a green tropical look but loads of humidity . YUK ! Fingers crossed we don't get any extremes of rainy weather which is often the way it goes.
Our one consolation is our Winter which is generally cool and fine and sunny and lasts about 4-6 weeks if we are lucky.
What would we talk about if we didn't have the weather ?

Margaret Butterworth said...

We are currently "enjoying" a heatwave in Perth: a series of 40 degree days. I have just been for a pre-breakfast swim, but now I must close doors and windows and draw the curtains till 7.30 pm. I am passing the time by transcribing my blogposts about the Camino into an e-book and this transports me back to Spain, where I'd rather be!

Red said...

I did not mind the Arctic darkness . We visited each others homes and were active in indoor activities. The skies were beautiful sunsets.

Anonymous said...

Drawing the curtains and closing blinds here in Adelaide too, to keep the heat out. We usually get Perth's weather as it makes its way east.-Pam.

AK Coldweather said...

I experienced that wretchedly humid rainy season a few years ago on a business trip to Brisbane and was thirsting for cooler weather when I
chose my 'AK Coldweather' moniker!

Cro Magnon said...

In my experience we are often fooled by Mother Nature into thinking what a mild Winter we've had. Then, BANG, she hits us with months of cold and misery until we begin to see some signs of Spring. I expect it'll be like that again.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Remember the Beast from The East - that began on Feb 22 2018.

thelma said...

I used to love English weather, the seasons falling as they should. But getting older I find the cold strikes more. Constant sun is not my idea of heaven, soft rain is more pleasant.

Librarian said...

Here in the middle of Europe we have four seasons; maybe not quite as distinct as they used to be, but still each with their own beauty and worries, depending on whether your work or business depends on the weather or not.
I love how a year goes full circle and then starts all over again, be it in terms of daylight hours, temperature, vegetation, birdsong or customs.

I am not sure what the headline of today's post has to do with what you actually wrote about.

JayCee said...

I lived briefly in Tenerife and enjoyed its year round warmth and sunshine but longed for the change of seasons after a couple of years. Although I now live much further north, our small island climate is relatively mild, if a little cooler and wetter than the rest of the UK.

The Feminine Energy said...

I would love to at least visit a place that's light at midnight. I find that concept totally amazing! Hard to know when it's time to go to bed tho... thus sitting in a cafe at midnight. *lol* ~Andrea xoxoxo

Minigranny said...

When I lived in hot countries I missed the changes that the seasons bring. My daughter and her friends danced in the rain when we finally got some in Bahrain.

Debby said...

I would miss 4 seasons. I would miss spring, summer, and fall a lot. I would miss winter a little.

Sue said...

I really don't like hot weather so living in North Wales and now North West England suits me just fine. I found I really wilted when we lived in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, there it hit the 30s regularly in Summer. I would be useless living somewhere REALLY hot.

Melinda from Ontario said...

I have to thank Chris for explaining how weather systems work in our part of Ontario. I live about an hour away from Chris so we experience the same weather. I didn't realize it was the polar vortex that causes our extremes of winter weather in Ontario. I'm the first to admit I've paid almost no attention to how weather actually works in the past. I'm more interested now. I just finished looking up the polar vortex on Google. lol

Mary said...

Glad you've had plenty of sunshine Pat - it really helps on the short days of winter.
Our climate here in NC is pretty good much of the time, but humidity in summer can be a struggle, and we do seem to be in the path of hurricanes quite often which are awful. I do enjoy 4 seasons and the changes each brings, dislike the tropics, could not take constant rain as in many places, and have to admit feel the cold more as I age!
That said, another snow/ice storm heading our way tonight - firewood stacked and hopefully no power outages.
Take care - Mary

The Weaver of Grass said...

So interesting to read all your comments - another of those posts where it would have been good to all be sitting round a log fire in the same room - with a drink of one's choice - discussing the kind of weather we liked.
'
Librarian - it is the first line of a poem by John Donne - 'Busy old fool, unruly sun'- look it up on Google.

Thanks everyone.

Joanne Noragon said...

My mother always said February is the longest month.