My daughter recently visited and could simply not believe the weather she found here in the western Catskills. It was sunny, in the eighties, there was a breeze. It was, for us, a pretty typical summer day.
“It’s been an oven in Kingston all summer,” she said. “This is amazing!”
She texted me when she got home the next day.
“It’s hot!”
Not here.
We, like many people we know here, don’t have air conditioning in our house. We just don’t seem to need it. So far this year we’ve had one night I’d say was hot enough to feel uncomfortable. We set up an extra fan and slept just fine.
But our tendency toward cooler weather has a downside. It doesn’t take much to slip out of summer. It’s felt like fall for two days now.
Two nights ago, the wind was howling and it was chilly. We had multiple blankets and it almost wasn’t enough. Yesterday was gray and quiet. I needed a light sweater.
I dreamed of tornados last night. I suspect the wind must have been blowing again.
This morning, I closed all the windows. The breeze was downright cold. It looks like it’s going to be another gray day.
A few days ago KB observed that it felt like the season was turning, even though it is July.
I’m sure summer will return, but we’re already getting a taste of what’s coming. The summers here are short, and the winters can be cruel.
If I don’t pay attention, summer’s going to slip away too quickly. Time to head back outside.
Read more installments of Village Voices by Susan Barnett.
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