The New Zealand summer starting in late 2011 that continued on into 2012 was a bit of a fizzer for Christchurch. Not a lot of warm days, and if memory serves me correctly, there were no days above 30 degrees Celsius. As a matter of fact, this story in the Christchurch Press on 3 December 2012 stated that there hadn’t been any days with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius since early 2011: the summer before last.
So, imagine our delight when, this summer, we have had quite a few days near or above 30. As I type this, the readout on our home weather station is reading 33.9C (93 Fahrenheit for those of you who haven’t yet converted to Metric). Coupled with the (thankfully) diminished earthshaking and the occasional respite from the heat, this summer has been a pretty good one.
Noel and I have been (somewhat guiltily) locking the cats in the air-conditioned lounge at the front of the house and opening up the rest of the house to let in the warmth and fresh summer air until we basically can’t stand it any more. Our house’s living areas and main bedroom have floor-to-ceiling windows throughout, and the house has been positioned so these areas get the benefit of the sun all day long, so the house does manage to capture the sun pretty well throughout the day. In the winter, this is great because we rarely need heating on during the day. In the summer, it does make things a bit hot, so, years ago, we had roller blinds put up. The benefit of these is that you can see out of them and they let some light in, but people outside looking in can’t see in during the daytime. (At night, this effect is reversed as the light source is inside.)
I digress. It’s lovely to have such a Goldilocks summer season (not too hot, not too cold, just right) with the double doors leading from the main living area onto the back patio swung wide open and locked against the walls, letting the fresh summer air and sunlight pour in. It’s the warmest (consistently) summer I can remember for a while (except for that scorcher day or two in January 2009 when it got above 40C / 104F) in Christchurch; as a matter of fact, it may have been the warmest summer I’ve ever experienced in Christchurch. (Getting older is a bugger…)
Right now, I’m typing this blog, with the doors and windows fully open, listening to music through our Apple TV, a moderate breeze outside, a cold Coca-Cola at my side. I’m appreciating the day and these moments for what they are, no matter how simple they may be. Life is good, and I have many things to be thankful for.
Beam Me Up, Scotty 