November is when Winter tries to make an early appearance in Southwest Florida. Summer will have none of it. After lulling us into a false sense of security by allowing a few mercifully cool days, Summer sends the usurper packing with a stealth move – an eleventh hour Hurricane.Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30, though we seldom see one this late in the season. But hurricanes thrive when they encounter warm water, and wily Summer has ensured that the Gulf is amenable - even in November.
So here is Hurricane Ida. The wind has been gusting for two days now and the air is as thick and muggy as an August afternoon, despite the distance between us and the storm's path through the center of the Gulf of Mexico. The weatherman tells us that when Ida has passed, taking the wind and humidity with her, we’ll have a run of picture-pefect days.
Summer will be in retreat for a while and we’ll welcome Winter with wide open windows and smiles to match, basking in mild sunny days and light-sweater-evenings, all the while pretending that we don't know which will ultimately prevail in this weather game.
This is the Land of Summer, and Summer always wins.
I'm delighted to see this post, which so beautifully evokes November as viewed from your "Land of Summer."
ReplyDeleteI had just last night looked back at the picture of your Sarasota sunset (Leaping Lizards post) compared with the one I put up earlier this week. I thought how much yours was filled with a sense of warmth, and mine with a sense of cold. I'd thought at the time, what is Carol-Ann's November like? Now I know!
And isn't it also great to have a "foreign correspondent," Jackie, write to us about this time of year as viewed from England?
May your Winter Days return soon!
I was thinking the same thing - we experience the same country from different angles, literally and figuratively. It makes for some interesting comparisons, when we add our own personalities into the mix.
ReplyDeleteNice to hear an English perspective from Jackie!
I hope the hurricane poses no more threat to Florida these days. I loved your line about pretending you don't know which will prevail. This was a great timely read.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing how January and February unfold in south FL, while we in the northeast are in sub-zero temperatures. I hope you will provide some vicarious summer for us then!