In the heart of the heatwave, our usual walks are too exposed to the glare of the sun. My dog doesn’t like the heat and neither do I. Seeking relief, we visit one of our less frequent haunts. The path was once a railway line, hauling coal to the coast. Here there is shade and shadow under bridges and trees. The hedgerows burst with bramble and bindweed blossoms. Stinging nettles as high as my waist and wild roses like vintage china. Speckled wood butterflies and hoverflies like lozenges of amber. Though the sun is blazing, the fog horn signals a sea fret in the distance. It is still too hot, even in the shade. A blackbird sunbathes at the edge of the path. He’s a beauty, with glossy feathers and a bright orange bill. He spreads out his wings and lies with his back to the sun, in a posture thought to get rid of parasites and spread the preening oil in his feathers.
We are used to a more temperate heat. Not this dry glare that continues for weeks with no forecast for rain. The grass parches and begins to yellow. Leaves droop and curl. On the moors in the north west of the country, a fire rages. I find spiders drowned in my dog’s water bowl in their search for refreshment. Amid nights of disturbed sleep, there are strange, vivid dreams: I watch volcanic ash tumble down like snow; I climb precarious wooden structures to escape grizzly bears circling below. And I dream of rain: heavy, drenching rain that washes away the heat. I fill the watering can and water spilled on stone gives off the soothing petrichor smell of rain like a false prophet. Morning sea frets bring some relief. But there is no hope of rain for a while yet.
I struggle to find poetry in the glare of the sun, when it is too hot to breathe or to think. I walk with eyes scrunched against the dazzle. The landscapes this sun reveals are too harsh, too flat. Fire is the element I’m least drawn to, and when I am, it’s the flame of a fire on a cold day or the dance of candlelight, not the unrelenting heat. Time seems to pass more slowly in this heat – particularly when I don’t want it to. It saps energy and inspiration. This hottest part of summer isn’t conducive to creating. It seems designed for lethargy.
But there is a poetry to the sun, and to me, its poetry is in its nuances of light. It is not in the noon brilliance, but at the book ends of the day when the air is golden or gauzy blue. It is in the deep pooling of darkness within the light, the relief of shade, the shape of shadows. The falling of light on a leaf, making it translucent, the way it gilds a buttercup. The dappling of light and the way it shafts through the canopy to highlight the undergrowth. Dandelion clocks become spheres of quartz in the morning sun. Gold washes the underside of seagulls’ wings near sunset. Stone becomes honey and the sky blushes.
Without these patterns of the sun, the world would have only one note. It is in the contrasts and the wavering spectrum of light that the landscape finds its character. It is easy to forget the life-giving properties of the sun when it seems only to desiccate and deplete, but in the depths of December, when my bones are chilled, I will appreciate that my skin was touched by its warmth. When the nights grow long and I feel that I have always woken to darkness, I will remember waking to the shimmer of dawn.
Gorgeous write. I feel it in my soul.
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Thanks Tara.
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Beautiful. Your writing is magical. I’m enjoying the sun but I have to admit, a little rain would be welcome. Coming from Ireland, that’s saying something !
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Thanks, yes, just a little rain to make it more comfortable!
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I’m sorry you are having such a heat wave that is unnatural to you! Unfortunately, we here in Texas are used to the blazing summer sun. At least you have a place to find shade – waist high nettles and wild roses like antique china – what a description! Yes, will you remember the heat in the cold of winter and remember the warmth? Stay as cool as you can!
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Yes, I’m sure you’d laugh at our temperatures Jo! I hope you stay cool and enjoy the summer.
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Such vivid images here Andrea so the sun hasn’t completely fried your inspiration. I can see you walking along with your eyes scrunched against the dazzle enjoying gilded buttercups and preening blackbirds. Poor pup, though. My dog doesn’t like the heat either. When I take him out for a walk he just lays down in the grass with his head between his paws and refuses to move.
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Thanks Susanne, yes, he’s a strange one, he’ll sit on the windowsill until he bakes, but he doesn’t cope well with going out in the heat.
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Here is the rain rain rain; mud mud mud; cold cold cold; I throw another log on the fire and feel the heat as I read your wonderful description.
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Haha, yes, it’s always raining somewhere!
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Sunlight is amazing. I particularly like how the color of the light changes both with the seasons and the time of day. I just wish I could paint well enough to capture the light as it shifts, shimmers, dazzles, blinks, winks, blazes and ebbs.
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Thanks Pat, me too, I do paint, but I can never capture the beauty of the light in paintings or in photos.
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I can’t paint at all and my photography skills are rudimentary (and I’m being generous to say even that.) I think that it is hard to capture light adequately and light on water if even more difficult.
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The glare of the sun seems to ruin lot of things but it is necessary for the beauty you see at the bookends its cycle. The gaps between the sun beams, and the shadows are also a thing of beauty, we cant have one without the other. I just checked out the weather you are having and its comparable to the heat here. Welcome to the tropics!
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Oh well, it’s good to know I’m not complaining about nothing!
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I do not like the heat and I,too, lose energy and creative flow when the sweat is pouring. July is here and with it the heat…hopefully it won’t last long. 🙂
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A few cooler days would help, to let those who do enjoy the sun and those of us who don’t bear it!
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A piece of overwhelming beauty born out of undulating dance of the naked sun. It’s amazing how the heat holds promise of contrasting elements like water and wind, in the sighs of the sea and the spillage on the stones, in the dappled corners of abandoned woods.
Out here in the subcontinent we are used to a much more fiery sun, one that blooms blisters on the skin and bakes it from within.
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Thank you Uma, of course you would sail through our kind of heat 🙂
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Lovely essay. I hope respite comes to your part of the world soon.
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Thanks Laura.
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Beautifully said, as usual.
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Thanks Jaya.
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Wishing you some cooling breezes and gentle rain.
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Yes please 🙂
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An interesting way of thinking about the sun during the hot days of this summer.
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Thanks Cynthia, there are plenty who are enjoying it, but I’ll take enjoyment from some of the elements all the same!
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I found myself nodding as I read, recognizing the perfect descriptions for what we’ve been experiencing, too. The bookends of the day are the best parts right now . . .
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Wishing you spectacular sunrises and sunsets 🙂
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When I was out for a walk yesterday, an old woman with a perm and a walking stick said as she passed me by “Roll on the winter”. My response was, “No, thanks. I feel the cold.” I’m guessing that if that same woman passed me in the winter, she’d say, “Roll on the summer,” and I’d say, “Too right!” 😉 I shared with son the comments that I’d resisted saying to this lady yesterday, which were, “Why aren’t you wearing a hat?” (thinking, she doesn’t want to squash her perm, so puts vanity over comfort!) and, “Vitamin D is good for your bones and will strengthen them against breakage should you slip on the ice (maybe roll on it, too) in the winter.”
We are funny mortals, aren’t we, Andrea? I’m loving the summer, under my big hat and wearing my huge sunglasses, but I know that some people find it too much. But every season has its beauty, including summer, as you’ve described so well. I’ve seen some wonderful butterflies this year and many more than in the last few damp squib summers, and there are hundreds of bees on my large bed of lavender, both honey and bumble bees, so they’re obviously enjoying the heat. And, most important of all, the snails have gone into hiding for a while.
I admit to not being so creative at the moment and spending too much time drifting and musing. Every day I say I’ll do better, but every day I don’t. Have revamped my blog, though, so I guess that’s a type of creativity of the technical kind. Along the way I’ve learned some very interesting things that I didn’t know you could do on WP to unclutter your site and speed up its loading time. When I can get my act in order, I’ll write a post about it, as it’s fun discovering new things and sharing them with others!
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I think we probably needed a good bit of heat after the long winter, but I’ve never been great at heat, unless there’s a swimming pool to dive into! I’m always more comfortable in autumn and winter, but of course we couldn’t do without the sun, it’s good to feel the heat after a long winter, and to have those light mornings and evenings and being able to sit outside – but a little rain too please 🙂 These days are good for musing and drifting – I’ll look forward to learning what you’ve found out about WP – I just muddle along and hope I get it right!
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We are having a hot dry summer here as well. The climate certainly is changing.
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This year certainly seems to emphasise that Alethea.
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I’ve never heard a hot day described more eloquently, Andrea. The setting sounds beautiful, if hot.
It’s been very hot here too for weeks. However, finally we have several days of normal hot and oppressive humidity… rather than the extreme we’ve been having.
The pup is a real cutie. Hugs on the wing!
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Thanks Teagan, yes there’s lots of beauty to be highlighted by the sun! I’m glad your extremes are settling down a little, stay cool 🙂
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I love your pictures, Andrea. Your heat sounds draining.
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Thanks Ina, it is, but a little cooler the last couple of days.
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Such beautiful description and really evokes this heatwave in the U.K. I have experienced some of it and am now back in the Spanish summer where ironically we retreat inside in the middle of the day and emerge late into the cooler nights!
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Thanks Georgina – yes, the Spanish deal with it well, we’re just not used to it so we don’t know how to deal with it 🙂
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Another eloquent walk in your world Andrea. Thanks for sharing the many shades of sun, from subtle to overwhelming. I used to like the sun and heat and now find less tolerance for it. But I do love the seasons and growth that comes with summer sun and heat. May we appreciate where we are.
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Thanks Brad, yes, there’s always something to appreciate about each season.
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Agreed.
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Despite the draining heat, your words ring with poetry. It’s hot here, too. If I still lived in Florida, I’d feel hopeless, because it never ended. Now at least I can look forward to an eventual cool down.
Lovely photos. Do you live near he ocean?
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Thanks Lori, that’s the good thing about defined seasons, isn’t it. Yes, I don’t live far from the north sea at all.
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There seems no loss of creativity in this post, despite the heat! We do enjoy your usual attention to the small details. The world is full of beautiful things even in a heatwave. Wishing you cooler nights and some refreshing sea breezes by day.
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Thanks Richard, it is indeed, and we’ve had a few cooler days this week.
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That sunset is gorgeous. What a great shot.
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Thanks Carrie, it was particularly beautiful.
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The older I get, the less I like extremes. Temperance–at least in weather–is beckoning me:). Lovely shots!
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Thanks Kristine, I do love stormy weather, but extremes of temperature less so.
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Poignant as always, Andrea: you’ve captured the essence of this memorable summer. I am fortunate: I can adjust my days to this all too brief interlude of heat and do as little as possible beyond savouring the harshness of the light and the dessicated hedgerows; watering the plants which will only continue to bloom if I continue to care for them, and relishing the cool of the lingering late evenings and the often spectacular sunsets. All too soon these bright days will be distant memories 🙂
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Thanks Sandra, that sounds like a good way to deal with the heat, it’s always worse when you have to go to work in it!
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I had a difficult time scrolling beyond that first photo, Andrea. What is it about a country lane? Of course, your last photo was gorgeous as well. Oh my! Your dog has the sweetest little face. What breed is he?
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Beautiful thoughts on summer, especially the spectrum of light, warmth, and necessity of the sun. It is life-giving, indeed. I do prefer autumn and spring; our summers here in North Carolina are so intense. It’s not only the heat, but it’s also the drenching, suffocating humidity. And mosquitoes. I’m an outside person, so the summers are rough. I’m not sure how I managed to be an estate gardener for 15 years, but I did. I don’t think I could do it full time now. Autumn will be here before we know it. Not a minute too soon:)
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Thanks Cheryl, yes humidity isn’t great but at least we don’t get mosquitoes, as insects have a liking for my blood 🙂 That must have been a great job though.
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Beautifully written, Andrea. The contrast of seasons of winter and summer is something I often think about, given the harsh winters we have here in the northeast US. It helps on the hot days to appreciate it isn’t -10F!
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Thanks Eliza, I can imagine the relief after your cold winters 🙂
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love your “nuances of light” which I am blessed to have in the woodland areas too. We haven’t had great weather so far but it’s coming!! Blessings Andrea and enjoy the summer!
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Lovely to see you Cybele, wishing you all the best.
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and to you my friend!
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Boy, am I with you when the sun rages for long periods of time with no relief. We recently went through 10 days like that here. Your last photo captures the shimmer so well, and I love the long purple shadows cast on the mud flat. Oh – and what is a sea fret? For all the unbearableness of ongoing heat, you’ve still made it have some appeal through your words and photos.
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Thanks Jeanne, a sea fret is basically a mist that rolls in off the sea – we get them quite often as we aren’t far from the sea here.
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Andrea, it can be a struggle not to let the sun and heat flatten the ability to write. I find it difficult to write in the Arizona summer. But being indoors with air conditioning helps, although it keeps me from nature.
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Yes and your heat is definitely heat 🙂
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LOL it is! Lately the humidity has been 47% percent (very high for AZ), which makes it kind of humid since it’s so HOT. That’s because it’s monsoon season.
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The beauty and poetic flow of the images you paint in your reflections reveal the magic of nature so compellingly, Andrea. Even when describing drought you find moments of respite and wonder.
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Thank you Carol, I’m trying to still find the positive in what is my least favourite season.
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Intense heat is not my thing at all. I’m OK in the mornings but in the afternoons a siesta seems too tempting. We’re not set up for it in this country are we? I have a Greek friend and she finds the British in a heatwave extremely entertaining!
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Yes, I think we’re generally entertaining in the heat or in a hot country!
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It finally rained here for the first time in a month and a half. Whoo!
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Good news – we had a day of drizzle but now the heat is back.
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“Without these patterns of the sun, the world would have only one note.” So poetically true. I’ve always known (through your writing) that you’re not a summer lover – more fall and spring, and maybe even winter. I actually bask in the sun and the heat (though not the humidity we can get here in New England). I feel my inside tissue stretch and sigh, Yessssssssssss. And again I wonder, why don’t we humans have a little solar engine inside us in which we can store up this sun heat and reuse it in the winter? ;-0
But summer rain is glorious and needed – I hope you all get some soon.
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I do recognise that feeling of inner stretching when you feel the sun after the cold winter, but warm would be good rather than hot 🙂
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Heat and too much sun are maybe not your cup of tea, but your writing captures the feelings they trigger. I grew to accept heat and the dreambeat of the sun, but they don’t trigger my favorite moments either. Stay cool and continue to write, Andrea!
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Thanks Evelyne.
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Oh, I wish I could send you some rain from here. It rains incessantly here. It seems spring went away too soon there…I read your posts on winter, then maybe one or two in Spring and its Summer already. Loved the description though however uncomfortable it is. You tc.
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It does seem we went straight from winter to summer this year, so I wonder what autumn will bring – I’ll swap you some of our dryness for your rain, but I’m sure you already have enough heat of your own!
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Sunday morning-a singing Wren and a cup of tea- loved it Andrea, especially the Book Ends.
Keep well.
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Thanks Mick, that sounds like a good Sunday morning 🙂
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Lovely words … I so enjoyed the last sentence! Ah the sun, wish we were seeing more of it lately. That last image is beautiful ..🙂
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Thanks Julie, yes, you could do with a little more and we could do with a little less 🙂
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Andrea, this is a post of sheer beauty. It speaks to my soul, echoes my thoughts and feelings this time of year. I enjoy the warmth of summer, the sun on my face but by now I feel sapped of energy from the heat. Normal life has to be adjusted to make the everyday possible. Your dog looks weary but I am glad the ocean is not too far from you. The fire on Saddleworth moor looked horrific, primeval in force and power. A new life force upon us, one that needs to be tamed. At home I see the leaves of the plants literally scorched from the heat – something I’ve never witnessed before. It’s as if hear their call for water! Yet, I too will remember these sweltering days in December … a cold and drizzle I am not even ready to dwell upon. To the shade it is, enjoying the wonderful light display your write so poetically about! Celebrating in the odd drift of breeze. Wishing you a magical summer. xx
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Thanks Annika, I don’t remember a summer this hot at all, I think I heard it was the driest start to summer since 1961 and is one of the top 10 warmest, if it doesn’t turn out to be the warmest ever. Fortunately we’ve had some rain this week that freshened the air a little.
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How I love to read your words…..they are like paint flowing or music playing. Such exquisite writing.
I, like you do not enjoy this kind of relentless heat, and yes it does sap energy and desire to work. Sitting quietly with book or sketchbook (as I did in Wales) is about it. However, it is, as you so beautifully expressed the bookends of the day that hold the beauty. To sit outside late in the evening feeling comfortable rather than too hot….enjoying the smells, sounds and sights is indeed lovely…and yes the early mornings are key – possibly the best part of the day. I love your dog:) Janet
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Thanks Janet, I’m glad you had the chance to sit quietly and relax in Wales.
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Andrea, I can’t add anything to all the comments above except I too, find your writing absolutely beautiful. Oh for some rain and a few cooler days!
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Thank you Clare!
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The way you write, no one can. Just beautiful , Andrea – stones turn into honey – wow
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Thanks Luda 🙂
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Your description of the season is beautiful, Andrea!
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Thanks Lavinia!
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So true, Andrea. Longing and appreciation of the sunlight will come later 🙂 Now we just have to endure.
I love your picture of the leaf and the words that come with it.
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Thanks Inese, it does feel like ‘enduring’ at the moment 🙂
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Andrea, the sheer beauty of your descriptions! “Stone becomes honey and the sky blushes”.
Looks like the heatwave is continuing in the UK; I read online that 39 Deg C is predicted. Take comfort in that this will pass. Soon.
If it helps, try to imagine life at 48 Deg C, which is what we routinely experience here in our own, parched, dry, Indian summers. Stepping out from a day spent indoors is like stepping into a flame.
Keep well, dear friend.
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Lovely to see you Sylvia and thank you! Yes the heatwave continues but we’ve had a couple of days of wonderful rain so the temperature has cooled to a comfortable level. I think I’d find it very hard to cope with your summers!
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I just posted my own lament to the undulating heatwaves here on the West Coast, your beautiful words fill my heart with hope and when the rain finally does comes, I will be remembering the life-giving sun because of you!
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Thank you, I’ll look forward to reading it, wishing you as much sun and rain as you need.
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It rained for a wee bit last night…we stood near our open balcony door and let it rain down on us, it was so refreshing!
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