Hide Away...

     I have pretty much always said that I do not like the heat.  I'm a cold weather gal all the way.  True, I have been known to enjoy days lounging around the poolside in the relentless heat but give me the option and I will always choose cold.  There is not much that I love better than to don a sweater dress, stockings, and boots -- along with the must have gloves, scarf, and hat -- and go tromping through campus in the fluttering snow.  Or to be able to shamelessly drink a whole pot of hot tea with breakfast just to warm myself from the inside out.  Or to wake up in a cozy sleeping bag with the tip of my nose and the edges of my cheeks feeling frosty while outside the tent I can hear the world waking as I snuggle deeper into my sanctuary of dreams and warmth.
     It is during these dog-days of summer that the heat feels oppressive.  It weighs in on the very walls of our house and feels as if it's impeding on the windows and doors, waiting for a chance to race into the precious  bit of coolness we have.  Even the pool offers no promise of relief from the overwhelming heat.  My flowers and plants, though hearty and large, have grown wild, chaotic under the looming rays of sun.  I can scarcely stand to race out for a snatch of basil or cucumber, or to water, or shade them during even the most mild part of the day.  The process of simply stepping out of the house is almost unbearable.  The heat meets me like a wall when I step through the doorway and into its clutches.  It steals my breath and weighs on my lungs like a steamy cloth.
     Even when night falls and the sun hides its face everything remains scorched and wilted, awaiting its return.  And so, I stay hidden in the depths of my home, busily working away at my crafts and dreading the heat that seems to be watching me through every window.  Here I'll stay, dreaming and waiting for the cool kiss of fall and the crisp breath of the coming winter.

    kaJo