Here it is not fall. Today was 36 degrees and tomorrow should be 37. The leaves falling from trees are very few and far between, though some do fall. Perhaps more from the strong winds than from autumn. I already miss the change in seasons. The crispness of fall, the apples and pumpkins, the cool air, the crunch of leaves underfoot. The sense that winter is near. The hurry to get ready for winter, for Christmas. Some of these things remain, here in West Africa, and for that I am thankful. Apples, pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg, these we have. Christmas is still coming. And I am thankful.
The sense of change, of winter being just around the corner, is missing. There is no winter to prepare for. No warmer clothes to be brought out of storage. No smell of snow in the air. No fires and furnaces. Just a swamp cooler and fans running continually.
But there is always preparation. Not so much for the changes in weather, but for the changes in what is available. Pumpkin will not always be here. And so we cook and freeze, cook and freeze. The papayas, those will be gone too, eventually. And so we enjoy. Lots of papaya.
Life is different here. It is still good. Just different, I remind myself.
mmm... papaya.
ReplyDeletei know the feeling! no fall around here either, but i like to pretend it's fall. and at christmas i pretend it's winter and listen to songs like "let it snow." which is way out of context, but SOMETIMES on very rainy and "chilly" days it does the trick. :)
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