We have been on the tail end of an endless summer, which has been much enjoyed. Here we are, mid May (that's the equivalent to mid November for you Northern Hemisphere people - NH abbreviation from now on), and I have - er, had - self-sown tomato plants on the verge of flowering. Autumn was only just starting to creep in. I still hadn't lit a fire yet, and was still sleeping in the bedroom.
For those not in the know, every winter, when it gets cold enough to need to keep the coals going overnight for a morning fire, I close off the bedroom, and move into the little annex off the lounge, to conserve heat and firewood. Normally it is a slow progression - fire during the evening only at first, then starting at midday, until finally it is cold enough to need a morning fire. But not this year. Last week we were still getting temps in the high 20's (Celsius), with one day at 28C (that's 82.4F for you NH people). Then two days ago we had a massive storm, howling gales, driving rain, and today - Whaahaha! It is cold enough to see your breath INSIDE the house! 9am, and there is still a solid sheet of ice across the birdbath! We normally have to be deep, deep into winter to get that!
To give you a little perspective, I am at 39.65 S latitude, that is the equivalent to Eagle, Colorado in the US, which is at 39.65 N latitude (except we aren't in the mountains here). Oddly enough, I was actually born in Englewood, Colorado, which is at 39.57 N.
So we have gone from summer to winter in one fell swoop. As we move into the new El Nino cycle (hot and dry for the NH, cold and wet for us in the Southern hemisphere), our season of summers has come to an end, and boy, am I glad put up all those preserves! It does, however, mean a long, cold spring - which is a late start for the garden, and a cool summer, so I don't expect I will get much in the way of summer crops.
