Saturday, July 10, 2010

Peculiarities

We had another good soaking rain yesterday.  No complaints, the gardens needed it.  Pulling weeds after days of intense heat has been like plowing through concrete.  And it was a soft, easy rain.  No thunder or lightning, just a steady patter on the walkway and drive.  Milder temps today, too, (mid-80's) although July in Indiana is famous for it's humidity.  No disappointment there. 

Tobey and I went for a walk this morning and the air felt as if it had already wrapped around us.  We clung to the shady side of the road as much as we could, our shadows tucked tightly beneath us when we breached stretches of sun.

Funny thing about shadows, they change with the seasons.  I don't know if science bears this out, but I've noticed them changing since I was a kid.  They grow a bit longer around mid-September and in October, it almost seems as if they have a flavor-- sort of a spicy peppercorn taste.

By December, the shadows are long and thin and blue.  They resemble frostbit fingers and one gets a sense of numbness from them.  This is especially noticeable around the Solstice and very defined when there's snow on the ground. 

Another thing I started noticing as a kid is the number of days near or below zero degrees is in direct proportion to the number of days near or above 100 degrees.  As silly as it seems, I always thought it was the Universe's way of balancing things out. 

I found myself longing for those long September shadows this morning.  Not that I'm in a hurry to rush through summer-- just had a small wave of nostalgia tinged with the taste of peppercorn.

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