h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's a windy night. A windy night unsettles the soul. They are wrong about were-creatures and full moons, it's low, rumbling wind that causes things to go awry and spirits to wander and shift...

That sounds like the beginning of a really good Gothic horror story. Please continue.

Autumn my Aunt Fanny. Today (or yesterday if you're reading this now... that is to say, today ) was the first day in more than a week we didn't make it to 100°. Only a mere 98

Animals always seem to get spooked by the wind... which is kinda weird really I've seen it most in cats, who can go quite loopy sometimes, when a gust of wind appears and horses too Not so sure about dogs... or for that matter, s

I don't think dogs like the wind that much.

Dogs can also see ghosts, but that might just be Irish ones.

In general, I'd trust dogs' judgement. When they start doing strange things they usually seem to know something I don't. Except when it comes to bicycles. I can deal with bicycles better than most dogs can.

s probably don't like the wind. That is why they hang about amongst trees and down holes - more shelter.

Our family dog, gives advanced warnings of storms.... I think its changes in air pressure, - the dog's more sensative than my own head, which is itself somewhat seemingly sensative to changes in air pressure... probably becuase I wrecked most of my ventricles with an articulated lorry when I were a kid... but the dog definatly picks it up earlier than I do Unless she's picking up soemthing else.... electromagnetic changes, as air is getting ironised some distance hence, where storm is actually happening, as its heading over towards our direciton... dunno.... Mind, the dog's mental.... Oh, and picks up earthquakes early on too, not that there are many eathquakes, in East Anglia Our last cat didn't really notice the wind... or earthquakes... or storms... but she was so stupid, despite all our training and coaching, Father and I never managed to get her to speak a single name of a brand-named butter... and we tried for about a decade to teach her to speak the brand names of butter... stuborn we think...

Irish dogs or Irish ghosts?

/?

You would be wise not to trust my dog's judgement. She's afraid of her own shadow... or maybe she's just haunted?





Poor thing really is afraid of everything.

Irish dogs - although presumably they mostly see Irish ghosts, depending on how peripatetic ghosts are...

But a quick check suggests Greek, Roman and Hebrew dogs can see ghosts too.

More signs of Autumn: my feet got cold when I was out walking today. That hasn't happened since February.

The sun was out here today!; loverly!; Felt more like mid-May temp... and the sun was nice and bright... had all the windows open, most of the day, to air the place a bit, whilst we've the weather to do so almost feeling too warm, up in the bedroom, earlier, as the sun had been on the windows for a fair few hours... cooling a little now, but a nice cool, inside at least, and I guess windows could be closed up somewhat now

There are supposed to be lots of lovely dry, sunny days this week. We're hitting that patch of September that happens most years, when you get the nicest weather of the year. It is the last stand of summer, before it surrenders.

I love autumn, but it always makes me slightly sad when summer passes. The change from summer to autumn seems much more like the end of the year than December the 31st does, to me.

Same here - there are more changes, and more noticeable changes. Football season has just begun; cricket's still around but the summer's tests and one day internationals are done; all the other summer sports are winding down and soon it'll be just football and rugby; the Proms, which began way back in midsummer are about to end; the kids are back at school; it's Harvest Festival; the nights are drawing in far more than they seemed to be even a few weeks ago; kids are collecting conkers; the autumn TV schedules are getting underway; flocks of birds might be gathering to start the journey south; even a few leaves might already be turning brown.

By the time you get to December 31st it's already been winter for a couple of months and the trees have been bare for ages. The only thing that's really ending is Christmas.

I started noticing this Indian Summer routine about 25 years ago. Certainly for about 10 years before I came here 15 years ago. I don't know that I remember it so much when I was a kid. A spell of warm, sometimes even hot, and sunny weather, perhaps a week or ten days, in September or early October.

Now that I'm living here, the end of summer is something to be looked forward to. Moving away from 100° temperatures, seeing the leccy bills plummet as the a/c gets switched off, being able to have the windows open, and feeling like going out again

Mind you, one thing I particularly looked forward to in the UK around this time of the year, when I was a teenage Gosho, was checking the music papers for news of the autumn tours, and finding out where Genesis, Curved Air, Yes, Wishbone Ash, Caravan were going to be playing

Colston Hall...
De Montfort Hall...
The Corn Exchange...
Friars Aylesbury...
The Liverpool Empire...
The Manchester Apollo...
The Free Trade Hall...
The Rainbow...

And if they were really going for it...

Hammersmith Odeon.

Back on subject (sort of)

Being in the South of England, I think we have always had "indian summers" since I was a kid.
The weather in September when the schools are back has been better than August in a lot of years.

I'm in Manchester and some little things stand out.
Such as Blackberrys are still ripening ours are very nearly over.

It does feel a bit more Autumnal up here, but that could just be the usual grey Manchester cloud today, (Yesterday was full sunshine).

In Nodnol I tend to feel that the seasons are almost in line with the Solstices and Equinoxes, so Autumn doesn't start for another couple of weeks 22 Sept. and Winter doesn't start until almost Christmas.

Although a friend of mine argues that summer is 4 months (June - Sept) Autumn 3 (October, November, December) Winter only 2 (Jan Feb)and Spring is 3 (March April May).

I think my central heating got confused by the weather during the night, and decided to click on at the thermostat entirely unecessary and have woken and opened the windows to cool it down, and flicked the thermostat to a more livable temp.... - I'm guessing clear skys, and hoping that for today that means some more bright weather < and a walk down by the river, whilst we've still got the reasonable temp and suchlike Must try get in a little logner with salads, and summer fruits etc., before winter is properly here, and its back to stews and soups... actually I do always look forward to teh cooler weather, just because of the soups and stews and making mammoth sized slow-cooker pots of the stuff and, in many ways getting a lot more lazy about cooking, and just making one meal a week, to eat every night Actually, as we've had a few cooler evenings, creap up on us, recently, I've just about whiped out the final supplies, from the freezer, of the stews and some lamb mince things I made towards the end of last winter But its kinda equally sad, buying the final few punnets of British grown summer fruits, strawberries and rasberries and suchlike Yeh... even though you can get em all year round, flown in from BoB-knows where, it just isn't the same MMMM.... oo.... porridge not long now

yeh... and now the kids are back at school, no more lay-ins.... I so should have never bought a house on the road with a primary school nearly opposite me <

And then there's always that sinking feeling when the evenings are getting darker and autumn looming that you didn't make the most of the summer.

The French have a word for the back-to-school feeling: La rentree.

September is my favourite month with its misty mornings and clear sunlight, and we had a couple of Septembery days back in August (last week) But this weekend was and possibly the next couple of days will be more like summer again.

I really hope to get my Christmas cards done earlier this year

If I sent cards out now, my friends would wonder if it was early for this year or late for last year. :-;

I don't really like the dark evenings, but I'm glad it's getting bright later in the mornings. It pure wrecks my pan when you've just been in bed for an hour, and it's getting bright enough to wake all the birds!

Blackberries, yes, another sign of the end of summer, but a welcome one. Who doesn't love a blackberry and apple pie? Seeing Michaelmas daisies, however, would always depress me somewhat.

Once the change has happened though, and the evenings are dark, the fire lit and fruit and veg gathered in from the garden, that used to be a time to start looking forward to the following summer - oiling your cricket bat, looking though seed catalogues, planning next year's summer holiday. I guess people don't do those things so much any more.

Oh, I don't know...I think I'll be planning next year's holiday, it's been a few years since the last proper one. And there might be a look in a seed catalogue or two. I don't think I've oiled a cricket bat in my life though.