Warm

What is so rare as a nice day in June?

This year, they were pretty rare. Rain, humidity and high temperatures marked the month, not those warm, clear days with the puffy cumulus clouds of sonnets. After a colder than average start to the year, I am not surprised that June was one that was warmer than average. In this part of the country, the long cold spell of this past winter was an exception: typically, I don’t go for so many months in a row that are either colder or hotter than average. I’m just hoping that June’s warmer than average temperatures don’t stretch for five months in a row, the way the colder than average months of winter did.

Here on the mountain, I am frequently spared several degrees of temperature that marks a day nearer the cities. I am not spared the humidity, though, so sometimes those cooler temperatures don’t feel a bit cooler. Several days of June were like that.

Unfortunately for me, the month ahead will likely be even hotter than June. July usually is. While I enjoy winters, I would be just as happy if the summers were cooler than average as long as the winters were no worse than average. I don’t really wish for warm winters; I’ve had too many of those already.

With this year’s colder winter, I was hoping that some of the nastier insects would be in shorter supply than usual. I can’t say I’ve found that to be the case so far. Mosquitoes are still plentiful. I’m not sure about the stink bugs yet. Ticks might be slightly less than average, though the difference isn’t large, assuming it’s not just my own fancy that I’ve pulled fewer of them off the dogs or me. And they could still appear in larger numbers later in the summer. I’d like to think that won’t happen.