Seasonal Thoughts

[forestofglory]

September and October are hot months in the Bay Area,the rains haven't come yet and everything is dry. The hills are golden brown. There oaks are dropping acorns. Other people I know in the northern hemisphere are talking about the cool fall days, but we have been having some very hot days.

I don't like when people try to impose the standard four season on the Bay Area we have seasons, but not those four. Yet kids books seem to really harp on those. My kid was asking what this season was called, so I tried to look up what the Ohlone or the Miwok called the season, since surely the Native American's who lived here would have had words for the seasons we really have. But all I found where stuff talking about "Fogest" and other recently coined words. I know that various waves of European colonizers destroyed a lot of the native langues of California, but it feels really stark when I can't even look up a simple word for the seasons.

Normally this time of year is orb spider season. They get really big and there classical webs are all over the place, but this year I haven't seem very many. I wonder if the smoke earlier killed them? What ever it is I miss them.

I have discovered a mango desert place within walking distance of my parents house. It's very good! All there deserts are cool and contain frozen elements which really hits the spot on hot days. I've walked there twice, once with my parents and once with my brother who lives with them. We brought the deserts back and ate them in my parents back yard.

Comments

[lunabee34]

Our seasons in the South are different, too. I grew up in a place that didn't really have any; it was just hot and muggy and then less hot and muggy. LOL We frequently wore shorts on Christmas Day. I never needed a coat until we moved to the top of the state to go to grad school. That was the only time I've ever lived anywhere that had the four, clearly demarcated seasons.

[lilysea]

The seasons in my city are

Birak
First summer
December-January
Season of the young
Dry and hot
Burning time

Bunuru
Second summer
February-March
Season of adolescence
Hottest part of the year

Djeran
Autumn
April-May
Season of adulthood
Cooler weather begins

Makuru
Winter
June-July
Season of fertility
Coldest and wettest season of the year
More frequent gales and storms

Djilba
First spring
August-September
Season of conception
Mixture of wet days with increasing number of clear, cold nights and pleasant warm days

Kambarang
Second spring
October-November
Season of birth
Longer dry periods

http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/calendars/nyoongar.shtml

[forestofglory]

This is lovely! Thank you for sharing, I'm so glad that you get to know the indigenous names for your seasons.

[dragoness_e]

The Bay Area has what's known as a "Mediterranean climate". Ask the people in Israel what they call their seasons--it's similar.

[lethargic_man]

Answer: By the standard four names, but I remember from teaching English in schools there during my year off there thinking that the pictures of falling leaves illustrating autumn in the schools were inappropriate for the situation there.

[lethargic_man]

Interesting perspective.

[kaberett]

goodness, yes, proper relevant seasonal terms are so important.