Days of Indian Summer

Although the exact origins of the term are uncertain, Indian Summer was perhaps so-called because it was first noted in regions inhabited by Native Americans, or because the natives first described it to Europeans. Or, it had been based on the warm and hazy conditions in autumn when Native Americans hunted.

Whichever it is...let us delve into the Indian Summer

~~~Poem

Great rains at last have replenished the springs,

filling the brooks and swamps - impregnating the earth.

A severe frost succeeds - preparing it to receive the voluminous coat of snow which is soon to follow

though often preceded by a short interval of smoky mildness.

Welcome to the Indian Summer.

This is in general the invariable rule:

Winter is not said properly to begin until those few moderate days & the raising of the water has announced it to Man.

There was a "constant Smoky atmosphere" way back when the term was coined and the smoke irritated the eyes. Maybe it was the "Indians, firing the Prairies of the West". Native Americans relying greatly on fire.

Do not rely too much on an Indian summer for warm temperatures during the cold seasons. Because the warm weather is not a permanent gift.

Maybe that is where we get that other connection, made to the pejorative term Indian Giver.

Native-American legends mention the god or "Life-Giver" bestowing warm autumnal weather to various warriors or peoples, enabling them to survive after great misfortune, such as loss of crops

"Indian summer" - defined as "any spell of warm, quiet, hazy weather that may occur in October or November", though don't be surprised, if these summers have been given credit for warm spells as late as December and January.

In literature and history, the term is sometimes used metaphorically to depict an era of inconsistency, infertility, and depleted capabilities, a period of seemingly robust strength that is only an imitation of an earlier season of actual strength.

Indian Summer may also mean a time when one may recover some of the happiness of youth. Or a solitary person who rediscovers romance or unexpected success in early middle age.

Other names and similar phenomena

Similar weather conditions with local variations also exist.

A warm period in autumn is called Altweibersommer ("old women's summer") in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Lithuania (bobų vasara).

Hungary (vénasszonyok nyara).

Estonia (vananaistesuvi).

And in a number of Slavic-language countries - for example, in the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Russia and Slovenia:

It is known as "(old) women's summer".

German: Altweibersommer.

Czech: babí léto.

Ukrainian: бабине літо,

IPA: [ˈbɑbɪne ˈl⁽ʲ⁾ito].

Polish: babie lato.

Slovak: babie leto.

Russian: бабье лето.

IPA: [ˈbabʲjɪ ˈlʲetə]).

In Bulgaria, it is known as "gypsy summer" or "poor man's summer", and in Serbia it is known as "Miholjsko leto" because Saint Michael or "Miholjdan" is celebrated on October 12.

In Sweden, there's "Brittsommar" (out of "Birgitta" and "Britta", having their name days around the time, on October 7) and/or "Indiansommar" as a direct translation from English.

In Finland, the period is today called Finnish: intiaanikesä, a direct translation, but historically a warm period in autumn was named after Bartholomew (Finnish: Pärttyli or Perttu), his saint day being in late August.

In Irish, the phenomenon is called fómhar beag na ngéanna ("little autumn of the geese").

In Spain is also known as el veranillo del membrillo ("little summer of the quince tree") or el sol del membrillo ("the sun of the quince tree").

In temperate parts of South America - such as southernmost Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay - the phenomenon is known as "Veranico", "Veranito" or "Veranillo" ("little summer"), usually occurring in early autumn, between late April and mid-May, when it is known as "Veranico de Maio" ("May's little summer") or as "Veranito de San Juan" ("Saint John's little summer"). Its onset and duration are directly associated with the occurrence of El Niño.

El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a global climate phenomenon that emerges from variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical Pacific Ocean. Those variations have an irregular pattern but do have some semblance of cycles. The occurrence is not predictable. It affects the climate of much of the tropics and subtropics, and has links (teleconnections) to higher-latitude regions of the world.

What a wonder our Indian Summer has turned out to be.

........................................................................................

Original essay referenced by me for the poem.

Great rains at last replenish the springs, the brooks, the swamp and impregnate the earth. Then a severe frost succeeds which prepares it to receive the voluminous coat of snow which is soon to follow; though it is often preceded by a short interval of smoke and mildness, called the Indian Summer. This is in general the invariable rule: winter is not said properly to begin until those few moderate days & the raising of the water has announced it to Man.

(An essay written in the United States around 1778 by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur, describing the character of autumn and implying the common usage of the expression).

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

Important Plant Areas (IPA)

........Mike's prompt.