I know it's been a while since I wrote anything and I'm sorry for that. My last post took more out of me than I would have ever expected. For a while I lost my taste for writing, knitting, reading, well... pretty much everything with the exception of the lingering thoughts that I was a "bad" person.
No, I don't regret any of what was written because it was the truth and like it or not, the truth always comes out. Not to mention, it did exactly what it was intended to do. It facilitated the end of the discourse within groups. Simple words did that. Telling it like it is may not be what everyone wants, but most of the time it's what everyone needs. I can think of some political parties that could benefit from that tid bit of wisdom.
Anyway....Flora Porn. That got your attention. Don't deny it. There is no shame for you are among friends, well acquaintances anyway. No one is going to judge you. Unless you've committed a criminal act, well then, there ya go.
It's that time of the year. The sky is a bright cloudless blue, the sun is blazing too bright and all the trees and bushes are NAKED. Flora Porn. Branches extending in all directions like bony fingers looking for the warmth and sustenance of a sun that denies them. It's been hovering at 0 degrees Celsius for a week now (give or take a few degrees in either direction).
I've always called this "fake" sunshine. It offers nothing but brightness. Surfaces and air do not benefit from it's rays this time of year. It's kind of like having a 100 watt led light bulb turned on in a standard closet 24/7. Blinding brightness and not much else, so there's no real purpose for it. Ambient lighting would have worked fine.
American Thanksgiving is lingering over heads signaling the end of Autumn and triggering Winter. Then there's the Christmas Season, but that's another post all together.
This time of year always brings a tinge of sadness and a heaping cup of reflection for me. Washing and packing away all the fun warm weather items, fond memories of outings and time spent with friends and loved ones. Then the memories of the over bearing heat. Although, this past summer was much milder than one would have thought. We only had a few weeks of actual "AC" weather this year and it was spread over a few months. If I wasn't fat, I may not have needed the AC at all this year, but we know THAT didn't happen, don't we.
I spent my teen years in southern Georgia and my 20s in Alabama. There are 2 seasons there. Hot & wet and cold & wet. The seasons change with a blink of the eye, almost literally. Walk out of your house on Monday to 90 degree F temps, everything is bright, green and humid. Walk out of your house Thursday morning and it's 50 degrees F and all the leaves on the trees are gone and there's a wet biting wind that cuts through your soul. Not to mention the lack of leafy foliage.
There are 2 types of dominant greenery in southern Ga and Al. Pine trees and Kudzu. When it gets cold pine trees emit this sticky stinky tar that gets everywhere. I do mean everywhere. Have you ever walked across fresh laid asphalt and had it stick to the bottom of your shoes and a week later you're finding black streaks in you house because it's still rubbing off? Yeah, imagine that with pine tar. It covers cars, outdoor furniture and if you've ever been unfortunate enough, your hair from walking under or leaning against a tree.
Then there's Kudzu. An ivy type plant that grows at a phenomenal rate and literally chokes out everything it touches. When "fall" comes and the leaves die, the sides of the road look like the stash of a mother of 5 toddlers, 3 cats and 5 small dogs all with ADD and on a mission to create the largest collection of Yarn Barf in history. Not the most attractive sight.
Mind you, I'm not saying that living in the "South" was all bad. When you're young in the 80s and 90s, before the internet, cell phones and affordable computers, everything was about being outdoors. Yes, you could still wear shorts and thin material Halloween costumes to outdoor parties and bonfires because it was in the 70s at night. Most years, if you got a bathing suit for Christmas you could test it out right away in the Chattahoochee River because it was still "warm" enough to swim. Skipping school with your best friend and your boyfriends to go to the hidden "cove" for swimming and a picnic on Valentine's Day. Camping out in your back yard for Easter Vacation with just a blanket. There were good times. I still missed the Seasons I remembered growing up in Europe. I still haven't found anywhere that rivals The Black Forest in the fall. Not even the Berkshires in Ma.
When all was said and done in 1999 and I had lost my marriage, my friends and my faith in humanity, I moved to Ma. My first day there, I got all 4 seasons and I loved it. The plane landed to a light warm rain (spring) which eventually turned to a hard cold downpour (fall), mixture of snow and sleet (winter) and by 5 pm the sun was out and I shed everything except a t shirt and jeans (summer). I loved every moment of it. The weather and the lack of fear for an impending Tornado because of all the fluctuations.
Ten years I stayed there. It's where I learned to knit, it's where I had my daughter and it's where I cared for my parents (that's another story all together). Then I met my husband and moved further north, into Canada. Contrary to the belief of young children, we have the same weather as the northern US. It gets hot, it rains, it snows and it gets cold. We swim in the summer and ice skate and ski in the winter. We don't live in igloos and we don't have polar bears as pets. Well, we do have a few really big white dogs in the neighborhood.
So right now, I'm looking at my naked tree lined street and missing all the reds, greens, oranges and yellows that were there 2 weeks ago. The heat is on in the house and I'm looking at a pile of boxes in my dining room. What is within those boxes will form the start of the next "Season", bringing an end to the Flora Porn season. The lights, the tinsel, the music and all the festive times that will go with it.
It's time to pick up a WiP and delve in to the last gift for this year. Hopefully have it done before everyone shows up for the Christmas party it's a gift for.
Thank you for sticking around and I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing.
Much love,
S
