To Everything, There is a Season

Summary

The website content reflects on the unique seasonal changes experienced in Florida, as described through personal reflections and photographs, categorizing the seasons by the blooming periods of various flowers rather than traditional calendar months.

Abstract

The text poetically describes the author's personal experience with the changing seasons in Florida, which differ from the typical seasonal calendar. The author marks the transition from the "succulent months" to the "hibiscus hours," signaling the end of the hot and humid weather and the approach of fall. Unlike other regions, Florida's fall and winter seasons arrive later, while spring and summer come early. The author reminisces about the "camellia season" characterized by cooler weather and the holiday season, followed by the "azalea months" that bring unpredictability and the anticipation of warmer temperatures. The narrative is accompanied by evocative images of the flowers that define each season for the author, emphasizing the beauty and distinctiveness of Florida's climate.

Opinions

The author expresses a fondness for the "succulent months," likening their end to an old friend going on holiday.
There is a sense of relief and ease associated with the arrival of the "hibiscus hours," as it marks the departure of hurricane season.
The author has a nostalgic longing for the warmth during the "azalea months," indicating impatience with the cold.
The "camellia season" is portrayed as a time of coolness and reflection, with the author rummaging for warmer clothing.
The unpredictability of the "azalea days" is acknowledged, yet there is an underlying certainty that the season will come as they all do.
The author poses a rhetorical question to the reader, inviting them to consider and name their own personal seasons, suggesting a personal and subjective experience of time and nature.

A blooming calendar

The succulent months are waning. Heat and humidity evaporating. The shadows are longer. When they are finally gone, I will miss the succulent months like an old friend gone on holiday.

I can feel the hibiscus hours arriving.

Tomorrow is the first day of the calendar fall, not a Florida fall. We lag behind in autumn and winter but race ahead in spring and summer. Hibiscus months wave goodbye to hurricanes — we breathe easier and turn off the Weather Channel. We take longer walks, sweat less, and marvel at leaf colors that come late and leave early.

The tropics slumber during the camellia season of coolness that makes me rummage for sweaters and jackets. The holidays rush by in white light. A new year starts with dots of red mingled in green forests — the camellia season.

I soon long for the warmth of azalea months. Too impatient with the cold. The arrival of azalea days is unpredictable. Maybe, early February. Maybe, late March. The most uncertain season. But, it will come, as they all do.

To everything, there is a season:

Succulent,

Hibiscus,

Camellia,

Azalea,

These are my seasons. What are yours?

Moving Through The Seasons prompt by Tree Langdon.

Prompt / Naming Your Seasons

To Everything, There is a Season

A blooming calendar

Moving Through the Seasons

A challenge for all writers.