Saturday 19 June 2021

Think yourself lucky.


We, here in Europe, often complain about the weather, in fact I would say that we are obsessed by it.

But just imagine that you lived in Texas (below) where 'twisters' are a part of life, or in a part of the world where the snow and ice never melts. Actually, we have it pretty good in Europe; just ask Dorothy Gale or Toto.


When John Gray recently invited his readers to send photos of their views from 'out front', I was amazed to see how many were covered in snow. Frankly I would move!

Here in Southern France we haven't seen temperatures lower than about -5 C for many years, nor have we suffered temperatures above 38 C. For the cold we wear an extra jumper, and light fires; for the heatwaves we stay in the shade, or throw ourselves into lakes, rivers, or pools. 

Our fields are green, our fruits and vegetables flourish (usually), and unlike Miss Gale, we are very rarely swept away by hurricanes.

John Ruskin said "There is no such thing as bad weather, just different types of good weather". In many ways he was right, but please don't send me hurricane-force wind or knee-high snow. No thanks.

 

37 comments:

  1. Take your life in your hands and live in the vicinity of a live volcano.

    You recently mentioned working the land. What is a farmer's need of weather may not be that of a city dweller or someone down the beach on holiday.

    My dear Cro, you don't know what you have been missing here, the last few days. That peculiarly English drizzle (great for the skin) that doesn't quite warrant an umbrella but leaves you wet before you know it.

    Snow? Snow is great. When I lived with my grandparents (in the South of the motherland) we had very defined seasons. Summers were summers. Winters were winters. "Knee high"? Nah. Six feet and more. First you needed to shovel your way out of the door. Magnificent snowmen aside, my grandfather built me an igloo. Inside? Warm. And is there anything more enchanting than a walk through snow IN THE SUN? Other than a summer day's meadow, of course.

    U

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    1. I think I may have written the above in haste, I now see that we are to have nasty storms both this morning and this evening.

      As for snow.... I'm not interested. It's both cold and wet, need I say more?

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  2. And in the tropics where it is permanently hot and humid. Not much fun either.

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    1. I only have experience of Caribbean islands with your type of climate, I agree; not much fun. I felt permanently tired.

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  3. Some people moan about "the English weather" but I love it for its unpredictability. You never know what you are going to get. Besides, our temperate maritime climate keeps our island green and beautiful.

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  4. Replies
    1. Where you can experience 4 seasons before lunchtime....

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    2. If you can't see The Gop, it's raining. If you can see it, it's about to rain.

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  5. One of the most pleasant climates I have experienced in my travels was on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores. It had everything we have in Britain, green and pleasant land, wild flowers, dairy herds and farms, but was a pleasant temperature, a little warmer than here, always with a breeze and just simply wonderful. I imagine the winters are quite temperate too.

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    1. That's a bit how I see it here. A little warmer in Summer, and often cooler in Winter; but very green.

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  6. We were watching for tornados just yesterday, but they did not come our way, thankfully. One time, I was walking in the woods and I found a swath of trees just flattened. It went on for about a quarter mile. A tornado had touched down at some point, and no one knew. I wonder how often that happens? I am not a fan of tornados. Our neighbor heard the wind, looked out his bathroom window and watched the wind (WATCHED it) come into our back yard, and go straight down the driveway and cross the street, taking down two trees. They are so random and that is the part that is scary. A block away from us, a tree fell on a man and killed him.

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    1. You haven't got a dog called Toto by any chance?

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    2. No. But you better believe that I haven't been the same since that house fell on my sister.

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  7. I'm always envious of your fruit and vegetable produce.

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    1. Everything is doing well at Haddock's, other than my Aubergine plants which haven't grown since I planted them about a month ago!

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  8. Minus five. No thanks. We were blessed with only one 38 degree day last summer. That is unusual but of course nothing to do with climate change. It was cold, overcast and gloomy here today, with only 14 degrees. Apparent temperature felt like minus 10. Yes, I exaggerate.

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    1. Minus five isn't too bad, it just means scarf, gloves, and thermal vest.

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  9. Our Norwegian friends say 'no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes'.

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  10. We aredesperate for rain here Cro - have not had any for weeks. But it does look likely that we shall get some during the next week.

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    1. We are too. We are hoping for some today.

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  11. bonjour ursula,moi aussi j aime les hivers bien enneiges, puisque mes forets vosgiennes rejoignent la foret noire de votre vaterland;et les genoux d une oma racontant des contes tandis que la neige tombe dehors;vous donnent , des forces pour toute la vie Leise rieselt der schnee

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    1. That paints a very pleasant picture; much preferable to TV.

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  12. For personal reasons I have on the phone in the weather app also Finland. All week the temperature will be there above 28 degrees Celsius. Something is still happening in the world.

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    1. It is 27 C here at the moment, and we're promised storms for this evening.

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  13. Here in NZ we live in an area with mild weather. With lows of 3degC in winter occasionally, we rarely go up to 30degC in summer. Mostly our weather is between 7-23degs. I've only seen snow twice here in 30 years - perfect.

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    1. That is why so many ex-pat Brits love it there. A sensible climate with not too many surprises!

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  14. We are enjoying our summer right now, here in Ontario. Husband would love to live in the Caribbean but I actually enjoy the changes of season. Getting through winter feels like a rite of passage each year and spring is so much more appreciated. Autumn has a special "feel" to it as well. I wouldn't mind a longer growing season, however. -Jenn

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    1. There are a lot of Canadians living in the Cayman Islands, they seem to love it there.

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  15. Still warm temperatures and cool breezes here. Cross fingers and spit 3 times. I'm not complaining.
    Your climate sounds ideal to me. I used to think the weather where I was brought up in NZ was the best. Hardly ever under 12oC or over 28. Lots of rain and sunshine. Anything and everything would grow there

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    1. We've just had two storms. Yesterday evening it rumbled continuously for about 45 mins with little rain, then in the night we've just had pukka noisy thunder and lightning with a good downpour. Haddock's should be well watered!

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  16. Cro, we have lived in Texas since 1971 and do love it here... despite the tornado threats. DH and I grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana... and it holds a 'spell' on a person too... even with the high humidity and hurricanes. Yes, there are so many beautiful places in the world, but almost all have some disadvantages. What's the old adage... "Bloom where you are planted". Might be something to that.

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    Replies
    1. The good thing about the USA is that you can select whatever weather suits you best, from Florida to Alaska; something for everyone.

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  17. I saw this photo and loved it and we have sunsets like this but with no tornadoes. The only problem is the drought and a heatwave. It was only 110 today (we are starting a cool down) and no rain. Wildfires all over Arizona. Tucson is covered in smoke. It is truly sad.
    That is why I so enjoy your blog so different from where I live.

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    Replies
    1. I know from your photos that it is very dry where you are. We often have fires in the extreme south here; sometimes started deliberately by idiots.

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