The Heat

 

Oh my goodness, it has been warm. 39 degrees last Tuesday afternoon was simply outrageous. It felt like a foreign vacation minus the swimming pool and waiter, which I now realise are vital in that kind of heat. Worse still the humidity gave birth to zillions of tiny sciarid flies, almost as irritating as mosquitoes which fortunately still haven't made an appearance in this part of the world. That said, at least retirement meant we could just give ourselves up to the heat and do nothing unless swilling the rear patio shaded from the morning sun counts, after all the water round my feet was the nearest I was getting to a paddle that day.

I can't begin to imagine working in those temperatures although an air-conditioned office could appeal. In my case I have resorted to the car and the fitness studio for cool air to be piped in, well it's either that or shopping in the freezer aisle.

Normally an exceptionally warm summer's day here might reach 27 degrees after which a 10 degree drop is a nightmare. Last Wednesday there was a 20 degree drop and it's been pure bliss ever since. Moreover, whilst news items now encompass the prospect of a water shortage, I can proudly divulge that we've had rain at some point every day for a week. There are obvious advantages to living in the Northern half of the British Isles, although I wouldn't normally rank the weather as one of them!

To be honest the lack of rainwater over the course of the previous month had been a source of concern, especially when my water butts (now increased to 6 in number) had run dry. Gardening might be a great way to link with nature at this stage of my life but spending an hour and a half every evening throwing water on your plants is a trifle tiresome. Of course trying to predict the summer weather and therefore the most appropriate vegetables and flowers would test the patience of even the most gifted crystal ball gazer. Added to which, what kind of plant revels in being drowned one week and then fried the next? Let's just say that before the rain arrived I was certainly thinking about the benefits of leaving my plot fallow next year. Presumably if the heat had continued I might even have been dreaming about the benefit of an air-conditioned flat with outdoor space limited to a balcony.

Dilly and the eldest are visiting at present, pleased to have escaped the sultry weather of London and in case North Yorkshire wasn't sufficient relief to them, they factored in a visit to our retirement project in North West Scotland. It's definitely a change to hear people discuss cool temperatures!

Warnings last week highlighted the danger to the very elderly whose bodies are less likely to respond and adapt to the heat. Sometimes I can visualise moving further south to be closer to both the eldest and youngest; there was even a time when, pre-Brexit, foreign climes may have been of interest.  Generally, however, I bring myself back to reality when I see all those surveys on the quality of life and realise that the region we inhabit generally ranks towards the top of the list. Now I can appreciate that our location could have climate advantages too. Heat and humidity certainly detract from my ability to apply myself and, as I've never envisaged an indolent retirement basking in the sun, staying put seems to make perfect sense, I'm just not so sure about the gardening.

(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)