Fall approaching

The Clearwater River Valley is draped in fog this morning, the temperature into single-digit territory, and the house sitting at 21-degrees as we begin our day.  After a rain soaked Big Spirit Festival long weekend, summer has loosened its grip, acquiescing to the inevitable sway of autumn.  I'm happy, as this summer - the second hottest on record for Alberta I thought I heard on the radio the other day, though I haven't been able to find confirmation of that passing piece of trivia - was brutally hot.

Do you have an air-conditioner in your house?  We don't have one, and may never if the Minister of Finance holds her ground.  The house, despite keeping the blinds closed during the heat of the day, still managed to simmer up to 30-degrees on most evenings, making it incredibly hard for me to sleep despite the fan spinning furiously above our bed.  I would often toss and turn, give up and get up, then return to bed to toss and turn some more until sleep finally settled in.  I'm still catching up from hours of lost repose and now that cooler weather has arrived am enjoying sleeps of the dead and incredibly vivid dreams.

I know several people who broke down and had central air installed over the summer.  You see, for readers south of the border or from more temperate climates. we normally get a handful of days in the year that would necessitate forced cooling of the internal air.  So spending three to five thousand dollars to install relief was a rather ostentatious idea.  However, this summer gave us a possible preview of summers to come, when the super-hot days outnumber the more moderate ones, when air conditioning moves from luxury to necessity.

If the global warming theorists are right, this summer might have been a meteorological trailer of fervent blockbusters yet to come.  If it proves to be an anomaly - my deepest hope - then this long stretch of hot has served to remind me of why I love living in the north.

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