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.

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.

Une girouette à Brighton

J'ai pris cette photo à Brighton, sur les quais. Brighton étant une ville portuaire, son paysage visuel est occupé par le monde marin et par les activités maritines. Donc, on y voit souvent des bateaux. Ainsi donc, cette girouette a la forme d'un grand voilier. Je trouve que c'est inspiré, puisqu'une girouette bouge au gré du vent. Même si je ne sais pas si celle-là fonctionne ou si elle a été mise là seulement pour faire joli. 

More Thunderstorms?

 I blogged last Thursday about the stormy weather we had then: wind, rain, hail, and finally some thunder in the afternoon, followed by heavy showers. Well, they are forecasting more storms today. I am actually really happy about it, as I love storms. May is not particularly a month for storms, it's a tad early for stormy weather, but like I said I don't mind. I hope it's a proper thunderstorm, with plenty of lightning... And I hope I will be inside and dry when it happens. If it happens. Because it wouldn't be the first time a storm is forecast and doesn't happen. Anyway, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

First Thunderstorm(s)

So far this year, the month of May has been, well, weird. Weather-wise, it has been downright schizophrenic, worse than April. It has been hot last week, but suddenly temperatures dropped dramatically. Like, beneath 15 degrees Celsius.And stranger than this: we've had our proper thunderstorm(s) yesterday. Usually, storms happen when it is hot and humid. In the morning, around 11:00, we started having rain, wind, and finally hail, then it got sunny again. Not warm, but sunny. As we were waiting for Wolfie to get out of school, we suddenly heard thunder. It then started pouring down. It was surreal. But I'm not complaining: I far prefer this to warm weather. I find it way more comfortable. And it's very atmospheric.

Devious March

 Since the vernal equinox and even before (see this post for instance), this springtime had been rather idyllic. For those who love when it gets warmer during spring, that is. Because I am not one of them. I far prefer cold weather and when it gets warmer, I start dreading the hot days of summer to come. Thankfully, March is a treacherous month and he proved himself to be again: since yesterday, the temperature dropped, it's overcast and sometimes rainy, furthermore it gets quite windy. Oh I love when March gets cold and windy! I know it will not last, but I am feeling oh so comfy right now and I am making the most of it.

Neige et poudrerie au Québec

Bon, le titre est assez clair: il y a/aura de la neige et de la poudrerie au Québec, selon cet article de la grosse Presse. Enfin, dans l'est du Québec, car c'était déjà le cas dans le Sud. Ici, dans le sud de l'Angleterre, c'est à peine s'il y a eu des averses de neige. Et puis j'aimerais bien qu'il y en ait, même si les Anglais ne savent pas comment gérer ça. Et je suis conscient que ça fait à peine une semaine que je suis de retour ici, mais ça ne change rien: l'hiver québécois me manque toujours, surtout que j'en ai refait l'expérience pendant deux semaines.

Windy and Autumnal September Day

 It is getting a bit warmer and it should get borderline Indian summery soon (albeit we did not really have a frosty day), however, I cannot complain too much, as we have been blessed so far with a very autumnal September. It has been suitably cool and we even had two days ago a very windy day, enough so there was a yellow warning of winds. Nothing to worry about, it was just really nice and it allowed me to wear for the very first time a thick jumper, because temperatures had gone down with the wind. We had a perfectly autumnal September day and I was in seasonal heaven.

Autumn Rehearsal

You might think I'm obsessed about autumn, and you would be entirely right. I'm very obsessed about it. But these days, we have been blessed with signs of the autumn to come. August is not always a very nice month for people like me: it can be too hot, too summery, and it often is. Indeed, it has been this year, until fairly recently. But now, it is much cooler, it does not get any higher than lower 20s in the middle of the day, so from the evening (which comes way earlier) until morning, I can actually wear a light jacket, pure blissful joy. It often has that autumn breeze as well. It is like we are in a full on autumnal rehearsal. I even saw some leaves changing colour, although they are hard to spot.

Signs of autumn: the breeze and the light

 I don't want to sound like I am repeating myself, but I know I am. But I need to keep in mind that autumn is on its way, because tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, it is meant to be hot. Well, by hot I mean around 25 degree Celsius, the temperature that gets me uncomfortable. One last blast of that dreadful summer. But I do know autumn is coming. Because in the middle of the week, it should cool down considerably, in the lower twenties. Then there is he cool breeze we feel. Just enough to give a shiver. Even watching it in the trees, it makes you feellike autumn is near. And finally, there is the sun going down earlier and earlier. Sometimes August just feels like autumn, like it's the case now. Sometimes.

The signs of the coming autumn

 This post is another autumnal chronicle or, rather, a pre-autumnal chronicle. Because for the last few days, I have seen the signs of the upcoming autumn. I have made a list here, because I am in an autumnal mood already (being my favourite season and all that) and because I want to savour each moment, each manifestation heralding its arrival:

-After weeks of heatwave, the temperatures have finally gone down. Oh, it's still in the lower twenties and it's not auutmnal yet, but it's a welcome change from the year. And you can feel a coolness in the air, especially in the evening, that really feels autumnal.

-The breeze. It gives you a slight shiver when you feel it, and it smells moist and ever so slightly not quite summery.

-Dusk. The sung goes down way earlier and you can finally see it. Even my wife noticed it yesterday. 

-The leaves have already started changing colours on some trees.

So there you have it. We are not there yet, but I am starting to feel the season coming. And that makes me very happy.

Almost an Autumn Breeze

Maybe it is wishful thinking, probably it is. But since the end of the heatwave and the return to more bearable temperatures, I have been feeling like something in the air, especially in the morning and evening. A certain coolness when the wind blows, it feels like an autumnal breeze, or very close to it. Sometimes just enough to have a slight shiver, when you go out or open the windows. I love it. I don't dare to hope, but sometimes think this might be our first sign of the autumn to come. Or maybe I am just in an autumnal mood. It could also be it. be that as it may, my personal countdown to my favourite season has officially started.

Une voile

Photo prise par mon père à La baie en 2023, je faisais le ménage dans mes photos quand je l'ai trouvée. J'aimerais qu'il vente comme cette journée-là. Et être près de l'eau.

Camping Night (and an autumnal promise)

Last Saturday, we went to Wolfie's school special camping night. We did not spend the night there, we just went so he could play with his friends, to have a few drinks and enjoy a barbecue. It's always a pleasant event. But this year, I enjoyed it for another reason. As you know, I long for the autumn to come and I have been waiting for its signs. After the heatwave we've had recently (and thre is another one coming), it felt like my favourite season was so far away. But last Saturday evening, the atmosphere was autumnal: the air had cooled down and there was a pleasant breeze that cooled things down a bit more. As if suddenly, we were in early September. It felt like it anyway. Even Wolfie said it felt autumnal. Now it means nothing about what's it going to be in two month's time, but I had a foretaste of what this year's auutmn could be, and it should help me get through the hot days ahead.

Un temps pour les cerf-volants?

Ces temps-ci, il ne fait pas très estival (ce dont je ne plains pas): il ne fait pas très chaud et il vente. Pas tant que ça, mais ça m'a fait penser au temps où mon père nous amenait faire du cerf-volant sur le terrain de l'université (l'UQAC, pour être plus précis, dans le temps son terrain était immense et pas défiguré par un stationnement). Il ne vente sans doute pas assez fort pour que l'on puisse faire voler un cerf-volant, mais j'espère que l'on aura quelques jours plus venteux dans les prochaines semaines. Petit loup et moi avons essayé de faire voler des cerfs-volants en 2020, avec des résultats mitigés. Cette année, peut-être, on remettra ça...

Ironic Weather

 It's been kind of stormy these last few days, because of, well, this. So yeah, Herminia has given us rain, wind and even a bit of hail. On Monday, during the school run, it was pouring, windy and hailing when I walked with Wolfie to school. At the moment he walked it, it suddenly stopped and everything went calm. The parents were all dumbfounded. One of the mothers said how typical it was that now the weather was calm. I said: "Don't worry, when it is time to pick them up in the afternoon, of course it will get stormy again." She laughed. And I think it deserves to be a great new unknown line. That said, in spite of my pessimistic views, the afternoon school run was much quieter: no rain, no hail and barely any wind to speak of. Still, walking to the school felt like an epic journey that morning.

Dark and Stormy Times

 You know the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night". It is a phrase often mocked as silly, that said this is what we have been having recently. These last weekend, day and night, to be precise. Rain, sometimes heavy rain, and very windy wind. They even gave us some weather warnings. And I must say, as long as we experienced it from the comfort of our home, I found it extremely enjoyable. My wife does not like it one bit, but I find it relaxing. Anyway, we had typical November weather and I am not complaining.

Cool breeze in August

I found this meme online and it made me laugh. August is about to end, it does not really feel autumnal yet, or rather not all the time, but yes, mornings are cool and there are cool breezes from time to time and yes, that's my state of mind when there is a cool breeze. I'm glad I'm not the only person who thinks like this.

Autumn is on its way

I know it will get warmer, even hotter by the end of this week, but I don't care right now: I can feel autumn coming. There are the telltale signs: temperatures have dropped ever so slightly, there has been a bit of rain and you can feel it in the wind. You can smell it too, the slight damp coolness that smells so much like early autumn. You can feel it even more in the evening, and yes, night is falling earlier and when evening falls it even looks a but like the dim autumnal dusks. It is not merely wishful thinking: the season is less than a month away, so I feel deliciously melancholic in anticipated happiness. Because yes, melancholy brings its own kind of happiness.

An autumnal vibe

 So we had a bit of a heatwave, or almost. A few days ago was the hottest day in the year. I found it very difficult: I was too hot, uncomfortable, I felt miserable. Then the temperature dramatically dropped, in the lower 20s, and it should remain like this for a week or so. Maximums might even go slightly below 20. And, probably it is wishful thinking from my part and I know this is very early still in summertime, but all the same: sometimes it feels like autumn is waiting at the door. Particularly when the wind is blowing. There is a smell in the air, a certain feel, that is simply not the one you would expect during summertime. There is something autumnal in the air. I know it will not last, but I don't care, I will enjoy it for all it's worth. I am in an autumnal mood.