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naturenut_pa

tough summer

naturenut_pa
18 years ago

i don't know what it is...perhaps i am just getting older? summer used to be MY time...a time for biking, swimming in the river, doing lots and lots of gardening and landscaping. i would dread the end of summer.

this year i feel so differently. i am actually looking forward to autumn! i am looking forward to sitting outside on a crisp, cool night, drinking a beer with the aroma of somebody's woodsmoke in the air. i'm looking forward to having sheets actually drying on the clothesline! i keep thinking about how nice it would be to fall asleep in the hammock.

maybe it's just because it has been a really tough summer? the heat and humidity...being bitten and stung and bitten again (SO many flies and mosquitoes this year).

does anybody else feel like they've had enough of summer already this year?

Comments (19)

  • Lily316
    18 years ago

    YESYESYESYES..I am so sick of this summer and long for fall and cool crisp weather. I have never hated a summer like this. We have had not one rainy day the whole time and are so dry it's pitiful.

  • mwoods
    18 years ago

    Well,no question this has been an ouchy summer as far as gardening goes but when I think of autumn which I love,unfortunately my skips over to the winter and the dreary grayness,the cold and most of all the dark.The idea of winter makes me shudder,so no,I'd like summer to stick around for awhile with all it's lumps.

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    I'm with mWoods. I was so frustrated that winter dragged on so long into the spring in the form of unseasonably cool temps, that despite only being willing to go outside in brief spurts when it gets soupy hot, I'd rather have this than the dreary, snowy, icy winter that fall always leads to. Inevitably, the stifling hot summer days here do yield to some cooler (but still comfortably warm) periods that make it worth it to be out and about, representing the best of what makes "summer" a great time of the year.

  • murial
    18 years ago

    I was on the patio this morning and was depressed because it felt like September. It's been a good Summer where I am. Last Winter was so long I couldn't stand it.

  • earthlydelights
    18 years ago

    i don't know that i so much want summer to end, i just want this heat and humidity to go away. i'd also like a few straight days of some nice misting rain. i find it so unbearable to work outside the last month or so, i can't even pick a vegetable without getting bitten beyond the norm.

    i'm sure when the doldrums of winter hit, we'll be wishing for summer.

    personally, i would like to live in a climate that is just spring/autumn....does that exist anywhere? because if so, i'm packing my flowers and moving on.

  • mwoods
    18 years ago

    San Franciso comes close.

  • barefoot_babe
    18 years ago

    Actually, other than the fact that my flowers are crispy from lack of rain, this has been the best summer I can remember for years. I absolutely love the heat! I walk outside, put my face to the sky and go aaaah! To me, this is what summer is supposed to be, hot and sunny. If I didn't have so much family here, I would move south in a second. My dream is to live on a beach somewhere where the sun always shines, and I can sit next to my pool, gazing at the palm trees and basking in the sun on Christmas Day!

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    I do agree that it's nice to have a day during the hot summer - even once a week - where it is cool and softly rains all day. But wouldn't trade this for the crispy coating of freezing rain on top of mounds of dirty snow on top of endlessly melted and refrozen glacial ice at this point. :-p

    And ditto what mWoods said about San Francisco. I was there a couple years ago during the last week of February. Had left Philly with 8" of leftover snow on the ground and arrived there for a week on a business trip to be greeted by the date palms and 60° F night temps that warmed to the low 70s during the day. Only thing is that it pretty much stays that way year round there with brief periods of the odd frosts or heatwaves, and the area doesn't always have enough heat units for some of the hot-weather veggies that many of us grow. Plus much of coastal California deals with a heavy marine layer where it is overcast, foggy, and often chilly/clammy during late spring and early summer (the "gray May" and "June gloom", etc) The PNW is similar, although there, they have the rainy season and the dry season (during summer where there's no rain at all), and you'd have to deal with that along with that lack of heat units again. I'm not too particular about having to grow tomatoes and peppers in hoop houses all summer because there's not enough consistent heat to get them growing vigorously.

    Ahhh well... enjoying the summer even though many of my cool-loving temperates are frying! :-(

  • koke
    18 years ago

    Well,as far as I am concerned, the humidity is unbearable this year.I really enjoy Spring and Summer and Fall.Summer with its endless light and warmth,veggies growing along with my perennials.Warm rain showers or my favorite....thunderstorms! I sit in my sunroom and watch the lightning and listen for the thunder....love it! Especially if its in the evening when its dark outside.What a show! And,its free! Then there is "my" Hummingbirds...so sweet and so fast.Love those to the max!Mowing the lawn using my tractor while Hubby does the weed whacking! I sit,he walks! Gotta love that! Oh,and lightning bugs......so neat! What did I forget?? So,even though, I am sequestered in the house with the central air turned on,I wait for a cool evening to venture outside and check on things in the garden and refill the hummers feeding bottles.Don't like the dry grass that crunches under my feet or the nasty bug bites that swell my legs up to the size of an inverted coffee mug rim.And, I haven't been bitten in over 5 yrs. so I am not happy about that. Mosquitos do not like me and that's perfectly fine with me so I think those bites must have been spider bites or some other bug.Oh,and the dreaded Japanese Beetles this year are horrible.But,all in all.Summer is Summer with all of its pros and cons.I do admit to looking forward to Fall but I always do.And,even Winter.I think its the changing of the seasons that I love so much.Only complaint is that after mid-January, I am ready for March and longer days,anticipating Springs arrival.Back to Summer again! We will always find a reason to complain about the current season,which ever it is.But, don't forget to stop and enjoy what Mother Nature has given us as a Gift.Reflect and enjoy even this unbearable Summer.........Koke

  • blueheron
    18 years ago

    I agree with you, Naturenut. My neighbor just asked me today if I was having a nice summer. No, I said, too hot!

    I long for the cool days of fall. My garden looks straggley, it was just too hot to weed or deadhead. Today it was finally cooler and I spend a couple of hours in the garden. It's amazing how much you can get done when it's COOL!

  • geoforce
    18 years ago

    I'm basically a spring and summer man. It hurts my soul to see all the beginning of the end in autumn and the depths of despair in winter. Spring brings on the rebirth.

    I love to go out in the heat and SWEAT. I keep as many as 5 shirts and cycle through them as one becomes soaked and another has finished drying in the hot sun. The hot fabric on my skin gives me a sense of energy. My only fault with this is a strong aversion to direct sunlight as I am one of those who never tan and develop critical level burns in 10-15 minutes of exposure, but a high SPF lotion and following the shade helps with this.

    George

  • the_analyst
    18 years ago

    I hate this summer! My plants are not looking so good from the heatwaves and then phases with non-stop rain. I cannot wait until Autumn weather rolls around.

    Sarah

  • gardenguy_
    18 years ago

    I've loved this summer, but the only downside is the amount of rain. We have not had as much rain as I would have liked to see. I don't mind cooler weather, but the frosts and freezes put a damper on the things that I grow. I will give credit for snow for one thing. It's great to watch the Steelers play at Heinz field with a good snow shower tho.

  • chescobob
    18 years ago

    We've had 2 good days in a row in SW Chester County. The next 3 days are going to be in the 80s and then . . . a return to the 90s for at least 4 days according to the Weather Channel.

  • hoehum
    18 years ago

    Enough heat already!!! If I liked it this hot I'd move to the Carolinas where most homes have central air. Thankfully, we have a window unit in one room and my son and I work different shifts so we can share it for sleeping - but I hate AC compared to fresh air coming through the windows.

    Several of my annuals that prefer my 'normal' summer weather said bye-bye in June and I couldn't really blame them. Meanwhile, I have a purple amaranthus that is now well over 8 feet tall and still climbing. I've had them the past 2 years and they never went over 5 feet.

    Few skeeters cuz we've had very little rain. Went for 4-5 weeks without then had nearly 3" spread quite nicely over a week. Thought they'd start breeding like mad but have only seen a few & no more rain again for another 2 weeks.

    Very disheartening to get ready for work at 6:15 when it's 80 degrees already with 85% humidity. One of these days I'm going to smash that danged hygrometer. On the other hand, it is sort of fun to go to www.accuweather.com and read the stats. I had a co-worker in stitches after putting a note on her computer at 8am: Beware - accuweather lists a 'wind chill' of 81 degrees!

    Two feet of snow looks pretty good from this perspective.

  • lynn_d
    18 years ago

    I have never watered containers as much as I have this year. Who snuck in here and planted all of them when I wasn't looking? The woman must be out of her mind! And the ponds!!! Everynight something is getting topped off. But the tropical plants are in heaven, the banana tree is climbing taller with huge leaves, the cannas, brugs, taros and tropical waterlilies are loving it....but again there's the watering thing. I simply do not understand how walking from container to container with a hose in your hand is so strenuous that when finished I am drenched is sweat......oh I forgot.....that is just this summer here in sweltering PA.

  • witsend22
    18 years ago

    summer too hot, winter too cold, spring too wet, fall well.... 4 seperate seasons each with its good and its bad, thats what I like about Pa.

  • stimpy926
    18 years ago

    This summer's heat waves are making up for last summer. Remember how nice it was last summer? It never really got hot, and when fall arrived, I felt like we'd never gone through a 'real' summer. My elephant ears are over 6' tall and my crepe myrtle just loves this weather. I'm getting the tastiest Brandywine tomatoes ever. I am getting tired of constantly watering my containers though :-/

  • koke
    18 years ago

    So,we now had 2 days of light showers off and on.Guess what has grown like crazy???? The weeds ,of course! Everywhere I look ,I see weeds! Although,I must say,the grass is starting to make a come-back.I guess I'll have to put on my gardening clothes and shoes and get out there and pull weeds. Ahhh....the joys of summer! But,my Crape Myrtle,Black eyed susans,Butterfly weed and Butterfly bushes look great!I am already thinking of where to transplant or divide some of my perennials into which "islands".I have named 2 of my islands...Bird Island has the Fly-thry Bird feeder and Crape Island has my Crape Myrtle blooming great.Bird Island could use some summer color so I might put some Black eyed susans there with some of my white Obedient plant.Right now,the only thing blooming in Bird Island is my purple Verbena,I think the Susans and Obedient plant would look nice and colorful there................Gone Weedin'.......Koke

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