Thursday, November 24, 2016

The Positives of Summer


After a lovely cool (almost cold) snap last week, summer has today returned. I may have mentioned before that it's not my favourite season. However, I don't like to dwell on the negative, so last year I tried hard to see the good in this season and I almost came to like it as much as the others. I'm putting that into practice again this year by taking notice of the simple things that make this season what it is - the things I enjoy that are unique to summer.



Organisation - I hate getting very hot whilst feeding the chickens and milking the cow of the morning, and as in our part of Australia the sun can have quite a bite before 8 o'clock, it makes me far more organised in the mornings. I get in and get things done before the day starts to heat up

Sourdough - Whilst I mightn't enjoy summer that much, my sourdough absolutely loves it. Bubbly, quick activating sourdough makes me happy

Reading - Due to the heat, knitting is off the cards except in the early morning and evening. This leaves any slots of free time in the hotter parts of the day open to other activities that my passion for knitting makes me inadveradely sideline at other times of the year. Reading is one of them, and coupled with it is the pleasure in visiting the air conditioned library in the middle of the hot day. After enjoying watching Agatha Raisin on TV, I picked up the books when I found them at the library. M C Beaton has found her way onto my favourite authors' list with her humorous, light hearted writing that is a joy to experience. I've polished off the Travelling Matchmaker series, along with a few from her The Poor Relation series and this one, this one and this one of the Agatha Raisin series. I'd happily read them all again

Fruit - I think summer is the best fruit season up here in the north. Watermelons, mangoes and lychees are grown locally, and as we luckily live in the sub tropics, we've also access to locally grown stone fruit at the markets sometimes (grown in a cooler, frostier area a little away from us)


And then there's the joy I feel when this season departs. Probably not the nicest thing to say (sorry, summer!), but reality is that I would probably take autumn for granted if it was here for half of the year. Instead I enjoy every single minute of it.

How do you feel about summer?
What are some of the things particular to this season that you enjoy?

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24 comments

  1. I enjoyed the Agatha Raisin series too Sarah and have listened to the Travelling Matchmaker audiobook while walking. Summer is not my favorite season either but I do like being able to be outside after dinner, gin and tonics and wearing dresses!

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    1. Yes I wrote this post sitting outside in the cool air last night, it was lovely.

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  2. Living in a completely different climate to you I can say that Summer is my absolute favourite time of the year. The layers of woolens and thermals come of and the frozen ground defrosts so seeds can go in and the sun comes out. Disliking winter immensely I can understand your love of a particular season. I too find it hard sometimes to appreciate the other season. I dread the winters short cold days, but it is good to find things to occupy oneself in those seasons.

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    1. Your summers are most likely midler than ours, as our winter is definitely much, much milder than yours :-) I'm not sure winter would be my favourite if it meant frozen ground and snow either!

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  3. The heat of our Summers makes me groan, Sarah. (A bit too loudly my lovely husband tells me!) The heat chases me inside, turns the grass all over our suburb brown and dry, leaves things parched and begging for rain. But then...there is our holiday at the beach each year, at the beginning of Summer...where cool waves and sea breezes take the edge off those hot days. I always miss it so when I return home and long Summer days stretch before me. Meg:)

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    1. It makes me groan a bit too ;-)
      Hopefully we all get some rain to cool things off and add a bit of green! Enjoy your holiday x

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  4. I'm with you. ....I don't enjoy Summer when it gets too hot, the last few days here have been quite trying. When I can't cope anymore I get a big cold drink and dig out my DVD of "The Day After Tomorrow "
    Great time for growing, my sourdough loves the warm and so nice to try out lots of salads and soooo much delicious fruit.
    We are lucky to have an amazing Farmers market every fortnight, just lovely to wander around before the heat hits, choosing such wonderful fruit and veg most of which is organic and local.

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    1. Your farmers market sounds wonderful Margaret! Cold drinks with ice cubes are an excellent way to cope :-)

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  5. Yep Summer in North Queensland is really hard to bear ....if it weren't for air conditioning! That's the only way I get through it. As kids we would swim in the creeks all summer long and eat watermelon till we could eat no longer. These summer just seems really long but I love that I have the family home for holidays!

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    1. Air conditioning was definitely a must when living on the coast. Up on the tablelands we can get by without it (not that I wouldn't mind it sometimes ;-) )
      Summer does seem to last a long time, doesn't it?

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  6. Thank you for those thoughts on Summer. I too do not enjoy this season - I don't do well in the heat, so you've given me a different way to look at Summer. Thank you.

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    1. You are most welcome! I'm really glad you enjoyed it x

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  7. Tecnically its not even summer until December, but its hot already and not my favourite time of year either. I agree, we take a break in tge moddle of the say when its too hot outside so we probably get more rest this time of year and the mangoes make it worth the suffering :)

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    1. I always count November in with summer :-) The mangoes are definitely a plus!

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  8. This time of year it strikes me that in both the UK and Australia, we shut ourselves away for part of the day if we can. You from the heat and us from the cold. I love all the seasons though am very glad when the next one rolls around. That said, our hot summer days are nothing like yours.
    What a gorgeous hen.

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    1. Yes I've never thought of it that way before Anne. I'm definitely glad when the next season arrives too.
      Keep warm! x

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  9. I love summer, I adore the gorgeous hot Perth weather I've been having lately, I don't know why but I just feel more alive in summer! I'm pretty fond of summer fruits too!

    Kez | acaciasdreams.com

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  10. Well Sarah, you hit all of those points right on the head as far as I'm concerned. The mornings have to begin early, milking the cow, feeding pigs, chickens, paddock rounds are no fun after 8am when the sun is too fierce, the snakes are lively, and the flies are relentless. But oh, those afternoons of lying on the bed for an hour with a book, because I was up so early I deserve an hour off in the middle of the day. Slurping up to ten nectarines in a row, straight from the tree in the evenings, and picking mulberries from the old tree down in the calf paddock as the sun goes over the hill. The best thing of all, as you said, the joy of the end of summer.

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    1. Thank-you for your thoughtful comment Sally!
      I can only imagine how delicious those mulberries must be, and the nectarines - yum! I've had no luck with our nectarine tree, although last year our peach did wonderfully.

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  11. I hear you Sarah. Summer can be so brutal. Organisation is everything in the hot weather isn't it? Getting jobs done early, having plenty of cold and frozen water available, sunscreen, hats and decent snake safe shoes and clothes. It really does require a good strategy. My sourdough loves summer too x

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    1. Oh yes - the snakes! I haven't seen any just yet, although I'm sure they'll turn up. Cold drinks are definitely a must x

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  12. Maybe I can come back to the vision in my head of baking sourdough. I've never done it because I wasn't home much and knew that starter was going to die a sad little death. Now's my chance, I think.

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    1. Obviously I don't know how much you are/aren't at home, but sourdough starters are pretty flexible, and the older they get the stronger they are too. You can keep them in and out of the fridge depending on what's going on.

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