We’re in the midst of a wintry blast in New Zealand, with freezing cold winds and snow in the parts of the country that get that. This morning we had several bouts of hail in Auckland (Instagram photo above). Welcome to Spring.
In this part of the world, we say seasons begin on the first of the month, not on the equinox or solstice, which means Spring began on September 1. As it happens, the September Equinox arrived this past Sunday, September 23, at 1:54pm NZST, so by anyone’s measure, it’s Spring here now. All of which just goes to prove that seasons have nothing to do with calendars.
It’s not unusual for wintry blasts to hit this time of year, though it’s certainly unwelcome, especially after a glorious day Sunday and a mostly good day yesterday. Similarly, hot days can arrive as early as October, but November can be quite cool. This is why no one with any sense would say what a given month is like: This may be the year it’s not at all what it’s “usually” like.
I know that I haven’t mentioned it before, so I should probably add that I despise winter. I could quite happily never experience it again in my life, and the fact it’s easier here than it ever was in Chicago is beside the point: I want warm, sunny weather. Sadly, most of the places with climates like that are places I wouldn’t want to live. More importantly, neither would my husband. Besides, with climate change, warmer days may become much more common here, but with enough rain that we may avoid the droughts that may strike the places that currently have a climate I’d prefer.
So, today was not a pleasant day—at all, really (the brief bright and sunny periods don’t make up for the rest). But better weather will arrive sooner or later, and I’ll get to talk about that, too.
In the meantime, here’s a photo of Leo napping on my lap today when I sat down to have a coffee. He clearly had the right idea for a day like this one.
1 comment:
hail. spring. or hail, spring.
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