Dreading the Burning Frost
The end of summer brings a slight melancholy.
Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night.
Hal Borland
That’s me in a nutshell. I would have high tides always and a full moon every night.
This time of year, I feel the sadness edging closer. A low-level acknowledgment that summer is over and winter will be here before I know it.
I love warm weather. The feel of the sun on my skin, the scent of sunscreen in the air.
You may argue that there is too much of a good thing where I live.
Many would say you are right. Temperatures in the Phoenix, Arizona area are over 100 F during the heat of summer.
It takes a lot for me to complain about the heat here. Generally, by the end of August, our residents are ready for relief from the temperature in the 100s.
I am not immune, especially these last few years. The changes in mid-life brought hot flashes. Dealing with our normal summer heat in the throes of hot flashes throughout the day isn’t pleasant.
Still, I find myself sighing a bit as the temperatures begin to back off. It is 94 as I type this.
I know the temperature won’t drop to the 50s in the next few weeks but it will happen. It is inevitable. The thought brings with it a slight melancholy.
Spring is much better for my psyche.
When the temperatures begin reaching into the 80s in March, my mood instantly improves. The warm days have started and there will be more to come.
There are those who live around me who shake their heads if I say something about it. They already dread the thermostat climbing past 110.
To me, those temperatures are worth it. They are even something to look forward to. Not like Fall. Winter follows Fall. There are many months between now and the magical days of March.
Last winter was very mild, even by Phoenix standards.
It is possible this winter will snap back colder. We rarely have true cold. Midwestern-style cold.
Our cold is more in the 50s than the teens. We may get a freeze warning once or twice a year.
For you who live where it gets properly cold, a freeze warning is when it is suggested we place sheets over plants. Some of our plants can’t handle a solid freeze.
Sometimes I think I am the human equivalent of one of our warm weather plants. I can handle the heat.
If you are going to bring the burning frost, though, cover me with a blanket. I will cuddle with my cats until it goes away.
Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.
Ada Louise Huxtable
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