Wordless Wednesday: Rain

Autumn Cometh Early?

When you move as often as we go, it is often difficult to determine what is "normal" on the weather front. When you move from one continent to another or one climate zone to another (from the Mediterranean to a country bordering the North Sea for example) it is even more difficult. I had been warned that Belgian weather wouldn't be what I was used to; the hot and sunny days of Albania would be a thing of the distant past while cool and cloudy with lots of rain would be my present and future. But how do you really know what to expect? Well, I've learned to expect the unexpected.

I tend to judge weather by the clothing I wear; the warmer the weather the fewer and lighter the layers. It was on Sidney's final day of school at the end of June that it really dawned on me what Belgian weather was like. Why? Because I was wearing the exact same outfit, complete with number of layers and a jacket, that I wore on his first day of school back in February. I kid you not. If we had been back in Albania or even the United States I would have been slathered in sunscreen and wearing a light dress. Instead I was wearing jeans, a long sleeve sweater and a raincoat. I found myself wondering whether summer would ever make an appearance.

But she did. On July 3rd to be exact. We were hosting a cookout at our house and it was hot. Up until that moment I hadn't wished for air conditioning, but on that steamy afternoon I was ruing the fact that Belgian houses didn't have any cooling units. But not to worry; July 4th broke to the cool and cloudy weather I had grown accustomed to. That week we wore two sweaters and windbreakers while visiting a North Sea beach. So much for my Belgian summer......

In anticipation for our trip back the the US I broke out my summer clothes and packed my suitcase with  the light and airy summer clothes I hadn't seen since last fall in Albania. And I needed them; southern Virginia in July is hot and steamy. Everyone there said it wasn't as hot as usual (whatever that means; my body had long since forgotten) but to me it was hot. Unbearably hot at first but then I adjusted and welcomed the heat. I enjoyed being able to once again wear those long forgotten clothes. But then I flew back to Belgium.

It was cool when we returned with the weather feeling decidedly fall like. Cool crisp mornings with warm but not hot days. I thought it was a fluke but one fallish day turned into two then three and four. I was once again wearing cozy sweaters and fleece and thinking about making stews and baking with pumpkins. These are definitely fall trends for me and I found myself checking the calendar to make sure I wasn't missing a month. Yes indeed it still the middle of August but here in Belgium Mother Nature is saying otherwise.

I've talked to other people here in Belgium and they have only confirmed what I am now suspecting; summer is over and we are settling in for a long drawn out fall. As we prepare for school to start once again it actually feels like those new back to school clothes can be worn without over heating. The days are getting significantly shorter; the 23.00 sunsets of July are now 20.45 August sunsets. But I'm not going to complain. I'm a New England girl at heart and love my autumns. They are one of the things I missed the most while we were living in the Mediterranean. Sure the days are shorter but I'm a fan of sweaters and cozy clothing. We have a new fire pit that will make these cool dark evenings enjoyable. I love the hearty foods of autumn and look forward to cranking up my oven again. Perhaps this year we will be able to go apple picking, find a pumpkin patch and carve jack-o-lanterns for the first time in years. Yes, I love fall and I'm looking forward to enjoying it for the first time in years. And if it comes a month (or two, three or even four) earlier than I have grown accustomed to, so be it. That just means there is more time to have fun. And I intend to!

The Sun Will Come Out???????

Winter and early spring make up the rainy season here in Albania and in a country where hydro-electricity is the main source of power I know this rain is needed, but I am getting really tired of it.  The sun did come out this past weekend but the unseasonably cold temperatures resulted in snow falling on the mountains outside of Tirana and gave me no indication that spring will make an appearance any time soon.  Other than those brief hours of sunshine I think it has rained a part of each and every day for the past two weeks and forecasts predict more of the same for all of the week ahead of us.  This weather is getting really old very quickly. On the "good" days its been gray and overcast with showers but most of the days and nights have been filled with heavy soaking downpours.  The rain has been coming down so heavily that the already saturated ground can't absorb any more.

On the "good" days its been gray and overcast with showers but most of the days and nights have been filled with heavy soaking downpours.  The rain has been coming down so heavily that the already saturated ground just can't absorb any more and this results in muddy runoff and pools of stagnant water.  Trust me, it really isn't a pretty sight.

I find the rain in Albania particularly hard to deal with since it just makes an already difficult way of life all the more so.  Our house is concrete and despite rugs, wall hangings, and heat that we probably turn up too high, it always feels damp and cold inside.  No matter how many pairs of wool socks and layers of sweaters I put on, I just can't seem to make myself comfortable.  My primary complaint about the Albanian rainy season, however, is that it severely limits what we can do.  While the country is filled with hundreds of amazing places to see and visit during dry weather, wet weather options are limited.  Tromping around a castle, old ruins, or sidewalk-less city streets just isn't any fun--and due to all of the stone, can be downright dangerous-- in wet weather.  Indoor venues, from restaurants to shopping malls, and movie theaters are cold, dark, and more often than not despite the ban on smoking inside, filled with smoke.  This is hardly the type of environment I want to spend time in.

So when will the rainy season end?  According to meteorological forecasts, not any time soon.  Like I said the rain is supposed to continue for the foreseeable future.  Rain, rain go away.

Breaking News.......Snow Is Coming!

When did the weather become breaking news?  I'm not talking about anticipated mega storms along the lines of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, or the EF5 tornado that destroyed Joplin, Missouri in 2011.  I'm thinking more about events I would consider normal seasonal weather.  For example, let's talk about snow.  While a snowstorm would be considered unusual in Florida, the same storm in the Midwest or New England in February is normal.  It is winter after all and snow is to be expected.  So why does all this winter weather seem to be making national headlines recently?

Perhaps the Weather Channel is to blame for the weather related feeding frenzy.  After all, with an entire television channel devoted to the coverage of world weather twenty-four hours a day, there is obviously an audience for such reporting.  But I can understand the weather channel reporting on impending storms and weather related events.  In the end, that is their line of business.  What I find the most curious, however, is mainstream media channels, from CNN and FOX to CBS and NBC buying into the weather hype.  Are there really so few more pressing news stories that these networks can afford to dispatch their reporters to stand in a Home Deport parking lot for hours and wait for the storm that may or may not ever materialize? Is it just me or does every approaching storm get tagged with an cute moniker than the previous ones?  How many "Storms of the Century" have been reported on? I would guess that in this century alone we are probably up to 13.  There is no denying that Americans love media hype so that might explain this January's Nemo or the Snow-a-geddon of past Octobers.  I guess  that repeatedly talking about a fancily named storm is more likely to draw in viewers than a brief news clip on yet another snow event.  But to me, all of this is just so strange.

But now I return to my original question.  Why is snow of a measurable yet not recording breaking amount in the middle of the winter a national media event?  Perhaps our obsession with the weather stems in part from our heavily scheduled lives.  As a culture we seem to believe that we can control just about everything but the harnessing of Mother Nature continues to be one of the few things that eludes us.  Are we obsessed with the weather because we can't control it?  Turning on the news recently I heard that an airport in Minnesota had been briefly closed because of snow.  This closure had inconvenienced travelers and disrupted travel across parts of the Mid West.  Um, this is February in Minneapolis so why should we expect anything other than snow?  Shouldn't a state that far north be prepared for the arrival of snow?  Didn't anyone else read Little House on the Prairie as a child?  Snowstorms happen in the winter.  Yes the storms can temporarily inconvenience us but we recover and move on.  Regardless of the size of the storm and contrary to media reports, it is not Armageddon and we do recover.

But all this talk of snow now has me wanting a snow day.

Spring Has Sprung

When you move on a regular basis you never know what each season will bring.  Chances are that summer and winter in your old location will not look or feel the same in your new home.  Locals, or at least those people who have experienced a seasonal cycle or two will tell you that this year's weather isn't normal, rather it is colder, wetter, hotter, drier, etc. than normal.  What does this really mean?  I mean what is normal weather like any way?

Greening Tirana foothills

Mother Albania surrounded by green

We're approaching the one year mark in Albania and with each new season have been told that the weather isn't what is used to be (can you say global warming????).  Summer was supposedly hotter than usual and this past winter was colder.  I don't know if this is true but summer did feel very hot and this past winter was a lot colder than I had expected.  I don't know what to anticipate in terms of weather any more.

Garden plants

Spring has officially been here for over a month but I think the weather is finally catching on.  Overnight the weather has turned from cold, gray, and rainy to bright, clear and sunny.  It feels as thought the entire country is undergoing an awakening after a long sleep.  Flowers in our yard are in full bloom (as are my allergies) and the mountains outside of Tirana are once again turning green.  The sky is a brilliant shade of azure blue and the air is crisp and clean.  The days are growing longer with sunlight filling both our early morning and late evening hours.  The sidewalk cafes are once again filled with lounging coffee drinkers and we've returned to our late afternoon ritual of going to the playground. 

And container gardening

I love the weather and am taking every opportunity I can to get out and enjoy it. And I must. Because before I know it summer will be upon us again with her stifling hot temperatures and smog filled air.  But like I said, in the mean time I'm going to enjoy it and get out and play.