The Summerizing
Time to close the homestead up for the season
My move from Orlando to Tallahassee, FL in 2005 happened in stages. I was destitute and a lot of my belongings had been destroyed by the 2004 hurricanes, so it was very much a case of starting over from scratch.
One early trip happened in October, and remember getting out of the car in Tallahassee and nearly crying with relief and joy because the temperature was about 65°F, a nearly twenty degree drop from what I had left in Orlando. It was heavenly!
Although I did not know it at time (few of us did), it was also the beginning of the end of temperate falls (autumns) here in North Florida. The weather has gotten hotter and more extreme and honestly, aside from the actual city I am in, it’s like living in Central Florida again.
I hate it.
Not a summer girl, am I! No, when summer comes, I summerize, which is the opposite of what people up north do in winter but is very similar: I shut the windows and doors, pull the blinds down, keep the lights off, and try to survive.
I will live in this dark little cave until, probably, maybe, November.
Last year, I broke down and put reflective film over most of the windows. The heat here has become deadly, and it’s no joke when you live in a concrete box like I do.
I hear tell that El Niño is on the way, which might mean a calmer hurricane season in the Atlantic, but hotter and more extreme weather over all. Gonna be rough summer for all of us, I think.