Sweet solstice

I realized today that we've just passed summer solstice. It's easy to forget -- here in Thailand it's not like I've been holed up for 6 months waiting for the spring thaw and lengthening days. The days do lengthen, but by minutes only here at 8 degrees latitude north.

People from more northerly climates ask me if I miss "the seasons". Quick answer: winter, no. Long answer: well, we do have seasons here in Phuket, three* in fact but they bring more subtle changes.

Today, for example, while I was driving just after a rainstorm, the sky was a dramatic deep blue with swirls of charcoal lined with the hidden sun's white hot rays. The hills in the distance appeared as an impressionistic painting, being slightly fuzzed out by the raindrops.

It's only this time of year that the sky has such a quality.

"Summer" here is the season of drama, with the southwest monsoon winds blowing in making the waves rise and pound against the shorelines, causing stately trees to crack in storms, and more rain in a season that I probably saw in a lifetime out on the prairies of Canada.

I love it. Sipping tea on a comfy chair inside while watching sheets of rain smash into the house while all the trees are being whipped mercilessly by the wind is pure bliss.

Some like it hot. I like it wild and windy.

Here's to summer and its never-ending days!

And, while on the topic, here's a fine Mary Oliver poem all about summer, too.

*The Seasons: 1) Hot, 2) Hot & wet, and, 3) Unbearably hot.