Le brouillard

S'il y a une chose que j'aime vraiment ces temps-ci, c'est la température. Je ne plaisante pas: je préfère le temps froid à ce qu'on a l'été. Et ces derniers jours, nous avons eu droit à plusieurs journées de brouillard. J'ai pris cette photo lundi dernier, juste après avoir déposé petit loup à l'école, mais le brouillard était déjà là le dimanche d'avant, puis avant le vendredi soir. Nous avons été gâtés.

Attendre la "première" première neige

Photo prise par mon père en... octobre. Parce que, bien entendu, il a déjà neigé au Saguenay. Mais je crois comprendre que la neige n'a pas duré. Alors j'attends avec impatience, ici comme de l'autre côté de l'Atlantique, lordque tombera notre "première" première neige, celle qui restera pour indiquer le passage de l'automne à l'hiver. Ici, ça ne risque pas d'arriver tout de suite, peut-être même que l'on n'en aura aucune. Mais au Québec, j'espère qu'elle arrivera plus tôt que tard.

Sloshe (mot du jour)

 Il a neigé au Saguenay et à Chicoutimi, comme vous le savez si vous suivez ce blogue. En automne, c'est maintenant relativement rare, une première neige, mais ça arrive encore. Mon père m'a envoyé des photos, dont celle-ci. De la sloshe. Au Québec, on a deux mots pour la neige: neige et sloshe. Ou sloche. Ou slush. Enfin bref, sloshe est donc notre mot du jour.

Neiges en automne

Il a neigé sur Chicoutimi et ailleurs au Saguenay et au Québec. Mon père m'a envoyé des photos. C'est un peu tôt, même pour le Saguenay, mais à tout prendre je préfère un octobre froid qu'un octobre trop chaud. Je ne crois pas qu'on aura un Halloween blanc au Québec pour autant: la neige devrait avoir fondu d'ici là.

Autumnal Chronicle

I thought it was time for a new autumnal post, this time a generic post about how autumn is so far. Because yes, it is autumn, because yes, the season starts with September. So here are my observations about autumn here:

• So far, it's not ideal, as it is a tad too warm. Yet, after the ridiculous and never ending heatwaves of summertime, it's still enjoyable. (More on this below.)
• Morning and evenings tend to be cool, so I can wear a light jacket or coat. It's lovely.
• While it's not cold enough yet to wear thick jumpers, at least I have been able to wear long sleeve shirts for the first time in months.
•  Trees have started showing some colours. Not much, but still.
•  There is often a nice, cool breeze that makes even warmer days tolerable.
•  For some mysterious reason, we can often smell bonfire when we step outside.
• The sun goes down earlier. Yeah, I know, it's supposed to, but it's more noticeable and every time the dimming light is just lovely.

So that's my pre-equinox autumn so far, how is yours? I will write more in the upcoming days.

The Open Gates of Hell

As you probably know, we are in a never ending heatwave. I mean, yes, it has been cooler these last few days, the heatwave is technically gone, but some meteorologists are forecasting another soon. The fifth or the fourth one, I have literally lost count. And it hasn't probably rained for at least a month, a month and a half maybe. Okay, it rained on Tuesday, for like a minute, and not a lot. So we have heatwaves over heatwaves and a very long drought. As I keep saying: "It is as if someone forgot to close the Gates of Hell." Which I think deserves to be a great unknown line.

Augtober (You Are Here)

 I found this meme online and I thought I would share it. Because mentally, I'm here. It is not August, it is Augtober. Yes, it's not time to pick up pumpkins yet, but all the same, Halloween is on my mind: I am reading horror stories already and I am this close to decorate the house with autumnal stuff. It's far too hot, the worst summer we had in decades, nevertheless I am looking for signs of autumn. Anyway, that's me. And for you, is it Augtober too?

Last Day of July

 We are the last day of July, at long last. How has it been for you? I have been hating July 2026, oh so much! I never like July, it is my least favourite month of the year. Because it's a summertime month, because it's generally the hottest, because it's prone to heatwaves. And we've had heatwaves over heatwaves this year. So I hated July even more than usual. Anyway, now at least it's ending. Yes, I know, the hot weather will not disappear by magic, but at least the evening will fall earlier and earlier. And we can hope that heatwaves will eventually end. Be that as it may, good riddance to this July.

Almost an autumnal breeze

Well, we are not, technically, in a heatwave anymore. But it's still quite hot: 25 degrees today. I was really hoping for rain. We had clouds sometimes, but no rain came. That said, maybe, just maybe, I can be hopeful for the future. And by future, I mean after the next heatwave they have forecast. So yeah, all day today and right now, there's been a breeze. Oh, not a cold breeze, but cool enough, given the circumstances. It feels borderline autumnal. As if the next season is on its way. Maybe. I know it's going to be a long wait, but it might come sooner than expected.

Colline en juillet

"Quand la plaine est fumante et tremble sous juillet," chantait Brel. Ici, ce n'est pas un plat pays (l'Angleterre est très rarement un pays plat), mais les collines fument et tremblent quand même sous la chaleur. Enfin bref, photo prise lors d'une promenade.

A promise of autumn

 Yes, I know, I know, we are in the heart of summer and it's still hot. Not exactly the heatwave we've had, not the worst of it anyway, but it's hot during the day. Yet, to keep my sanity and get myself in an autumnal mood, and because I am attuned to seasonal changes, I have started noticing a few small signs of the autumn to come. It's in the morning and evening when we can feel them. During camp night for instance, in the evening. The sun had not even set yet and there was a breeze and a proper chill. We had arrived in the afternoon, it was hot, we had brought no coat or fleece. Well, in our summer clothes, we were a bit cold. Oh, not much, but enough to feel the chill in the air. Right after a hot day. Then some mornings recently have been much cooler than we would expect. The breeze cools things down a lot, and it smells does feel a bit, just a bit but still, autumnal. So I keep saying to myself: we are not there yet, but this is a promise of autumn. Things will get better.

Smoothie costaud

Je suis allé dans un café avec petit loup il y a quelques jours, pensant trouver quelque chose de léger et de rafraîchissant pour endurer la canicule. On a donc commandé des smoothies. J'ai commis un erreur en choisissant le mien: en plus des fruits, il y avait beaucoup de yogourt dedans. C'était frais, mais ce n'était pas vraiment désaltérant. Plutôt comme manger un dessert santé, et je ne suis pas très friand du yogourt comme dessert. Mais bon, c'était j'imagine assez santé. Petit loup m'a aidé à le boire. Plus parce qu'il était curieux qu'autre chose. Et puis il est en pleine croissance, donc a un appétit d'ogre.

Another Bloody Heatwave

We had a heatwave in May, it was scorching hot. Then, we had one in June, which was even. Well, I guess we had to have a third one, this time in July. It's bad, really bad. At least we don't have amber and red warnings like for the last one, but it's really not good all the same. I am officially fed up with summertime. It started way too early, it's being way too hot for my own comfort. I am spending a lot of my free time just looking at the weather forecast and hoping the hot days will end. Anyway, that's my summer so far, hot, sticky and unpleasant, how is yours?

The End of June

Today we are the last day of June. One month of summertime done and dusted, and it has been a trying month from yours truly. Because we had one of the worst heatwaves in history, for one, which really made me struggle. I used to like the month of June, a long, long time ago. Not so much now. Especially since as I got older, I started to seriously struggling with heat. And since June is now generally way hotter than it used to be... Well, it's going to be over soon. Thankfully, the heatwave is gone, for now. I'm bracing myself for the next one, whenever it may be. Until then, I can find some solace knowing that I survived the first month of summer. And you, how was your June? Did you enjoy it?

Amber/Red Warning

We are going through a week in Hell: it is a heatwave. Not the first this summer, but by far the worst yet: the Met Office gave an amber warning of extreme heat from Monday until Tuesday, and a red warning from Wednesday until Thursday inclusively. It should go as high as 37 degrees. This is pure madness. I don't understand how people can be happy about this and thinking it's all just fine and they say it's lovely sunshine and so on. I think it's sheer masochism. So yeah, I keep hydrated, I stay in until evening comes, I just brace myself and cannot wait for summer to be over.

Summer Solstice

 Today is the summer solstice. So the official or astronomical first day of summer, although in my book the season truly starts with the month of June. Be that as it may, we're in a heatwave, with temperatures going up to 30 degrees today. And it is the longest day of the year. The horror, the horror. I don't like summertime, I don't like long days and I don't like heat. I know, I'm a strange beast, I'm weird, but I know I'm not alone. So yes, I am not really in a great mood today. If only it was a cool and rainy day, it would be bearable, but no. There is one thing, and truly one thing I like about the solstice: once it is over, it means that the days are going to get shorter and shorter. It's going to be long until we feel it, but it gives me some level of solace.

The chill in the air

Sometimes, one counts his blessings, knowing it will not last. We had one dreadful heatwave and another one is forecast, starting this weekend. But since the end of the last one, we had surprisingly cool weather. With lots of rain, but not only rain: I actually had to wear long sleeve shirts and light jumpers to stay warm. It struck me a few days ago: my wife had opened the bedroom windows, it made the whole place feeling chilly and cool, and oh so fresh, it truly felt wonderful. Almost autumnal, although not quite (my favourite season has a different smell). Still, it made me forget that summer has only started. I'm really enjoying this.

Un vrai orage

 Bon, il ne se sera pas trop fait attendre: nous avons eu droit à un orage électrique en bonne et due forme la semaine dernière. J'ai pu prendre une photo, mais elle lui rend pas justice. Bon, je dis ça à chaque fois que je partage une photo d'un orage, mais c'est difficile de montrer quand il tombe des cordes, encore plus de saisir les éclairs. Ce que je n'ai jamais réussi jusqu'ici. Mais bon, c'est le plus orageux des orages que l'on a eus depuis le début de l'été.

Accursed Heatwave

 If you are living in the UK, even in Europe, you are experiencing it now (at least when I'm typing this): there is a heatwave. I have been expecting it, but not looking forward to it. In fact, I have been dreading it since the last heatwave we have experienced, back in August 2025, when we had two weeks of this horror. I don't like the heat, because of this I stopped liking summertime. I'm not sure exactly when, but I reallt dislike summertime now, at least and especially when it's hot outside. I hate the heat, it makes me numb, tired, restless, uncomfortable, irritable, it drains me of my energy. So yes, I'm looking forward for it to end.

Première canicule

Bon, je sais que nous ne sommes pas encore officiellement l'été, mais on ne va pas se mentir: l'été est ici officieusement arrivé et il est arrivé en grande fanfare, sans crier gare, une vraie peste mêlée à du choléra dans une éruption volcanique. Parce que nous avons droit à notre première canicule et ce, depuis vendredi dernier. L'enfer ensoleillé. Il va sans dire que je déteste cordialement. Et vous, comment c'est chez vous?