Indian Summer

The thought of an Indian summer is wonderful in theory and thought when you are stuck with a fairly wet and dreary summer. Even more so when you are struggling to find things to do that will occupy small children. Indian summer, it keeps your mind optimistic on those rainy days when the kids won’t stop wining because you are once again stuck inside.

But, the summer holidays are now over. We’ve survived them and now enjoy getting back into that school routine. A routine that allows both parent and child to take a well deserved break from each other. Which is exactly what I intent to do.

Mentally I have been preparing myself for jeans and thin jumpers, clothes that I find I am generally most comfortable in. As much as I adore all of the seasons for the beauty they each bring to the world by the time the summer holidays are over I’m ready to start getting into slightly cosier clothes.

As I write this we are currently on the third day back at school and I have managed to get most of the house chores done that got a little bit left behind during the holidays. Deciding that I could allow myself a morning break I made plans to meet with a friend who lives just a five minute drive away but a thirty minute walk which I had decided was the better option so as to enjoy the good weather whilst it lasted.

However, it turns out that today happened to be one of the hottest days of the year. The television and social media is roaring with the words ‘Indian summer’ and I decided to walk…

Living by the coast you can almost always guarantee a breeze and so I walked the six year old to school and continued along the coastal path to my friends house.

I can confirm that there was only the slightest touch of breeze and even that is being generous.

For further clarification it was one of those days when you open the back door hoping for the slightest cool breeze to hit you as you push it open and it hits you. Alas there was no breeze today. The temperature outside was just as heavy and humid as the temperature inside and you felt like you were breathing in something solid with every intake of breath.

The walk to my friends isn’t the most picturesque but it is by no means the worst. The path cuts right down the middle of some farm land which of course means no shade from any nearby tree or large bush. So on a day like today it was I imagine like being in the middle of a desert except it just wasn’t quite as hot as that.

It had been hot from very early on but it wasn’t until I hit that open space that I really noticed it. Birds were flitting all over the place and I noticed that quite a few were Swallows. Fidgety and restless as they prepare to migrate to warmer climes. Probably partially confused as to why they were preparing to leave when it didn’t feel as though summer was over or in fact that it had only just started.

There were masses of crows congregating on the cut corn fields, hovering up any grain left by combine harvester and in general the abundance of wildlife, mainly birds was quite prevalent.

There was a haze hanging in the air, the likes of which I hadn’t seen all summer and the ocean could almost have been described as a mirage had I not known that it was in fact real.

My husband had told me that we were possibly heading into what’s termed a ‘heat dome’. The UK Met Office describes a heat dome as “an extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year”. The Royal Meteorological Society says it is an area of high pressure that stays in the same area for days or weeks. Due to the high-pressure area, the hot air is trapped and it pushes the temperature. The hot air expands, and it spreads while the high pressure above it does not allow it to escape, so it sinks and creates a dome-like effect. I gathered this information from the Economic Times.

As I walked under the scorching sun I couldn’t help but curse this weather in a traditionally British way. We are always wanting the weather to be hotter when it’s too cold and cooler when it’s too hot. So I’ve resolved myself to enjoying this Indian Summer. Yes it’s too hot, but it has allowed me to be outside. The walk itself taking away the excessive sweating is as restorative as I hoped it would be. I was enjoying my solitude regardless of the heat. Even the twang of salt on my lips was a pleasant sensation as nature surrounded me with calm. Would I rather it be slightly cooler… of course I would. But as our climate changes I intent to take as much joy from it as I possibly can. Because I am eternally grateful for nature and the blessings that it provides to this beautiful world that we call home.

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Charlotte is a nature writer and wildlife ecology student. Find her on Instagram @charlofay