Well, I've made it. Today is the last day of August. Tomorrow it will be September and I can breathe a sigh of relief. Oh the relief.
The countdown to September started last week when the night time temperatures dropped. This, in turn, dropped my shoulders down a notch because it meant the amount of flies hovering around substantially decreased. Good news especially as we're on the last fly swat and even that is beginning to look a little shredded.
Summer is my least favourite season. (I've written about why here). I just feel a constant pressure and anxiety from the beginning of July until the end of August. This hasn't always been the case but since we moved to the countryside and I'm more aware of the seasons it has definitely become stronger over the years.
The magazines proclaiming how wonderful long summer evenings involving friends, wine and barbecues make me feel pressured to enjoy it. I don't. Or, at least, I don't in this house if I'm the hostess. By evening time I am utterly spent. Being up early with animals means I have no energy left to marinate meat and make salads. My paranoia that wasps are always around me doesn't help, plus I'm always the one that gets bitten by mosquitoes. And I'm running out of tea-towels to protect the food against the flies.
I'd rather sit inside with a book - yet having the light on to read attracts the insects and I need the windows open because it's so utterly stifling. And I can't get into my book until I know the animals are locked away. Fastening the animals up earlier and earlier due to the darker nights is always calming. Once they're in I can relax and start my evening.
Yup, thank you 9 degrees centigrade. That was last night's temperature. I saw my breath at six thirty this morning when I took the Puppy out for the toilet. I nearly cheered.
I know there are people, many of my closest friends, who are sad that summer is drawing to a close. And I feel for them, I do. I know how that feels. But for me, I am starting my favourite time. Autumn, winter and then early spring.
And the release of pressure is as immediate and satisfying as when I had my wisdom tooth pulled out a few months ago.