Wednesday, November 12, 2008

In the absence of Fall...

The desert is never about middle ground. We have some of the tallest mountains in the Southwest right next to some land ridiculously below sea level. We seem to be all about the extremes here... from our landscape to our weather to the conspicuous consumption I see all around this town, even in the current turmoil of economic uncertainty. I marvel every year at how we go from having the AC on one day, to needing the heat on the next.

Its happened again... welcome to Winter in the desert. Sure, it will get colder, wetter and may even grace us with a flake to two (which brings Scottsdale to a comical HALT) than it is now, but we have turned the corner... and I, for one, can breathe a sigh of relief.

But there is something nice about those two beautiful transition seasons - fall and spring. They prepare us, the tease us just a bit, and they lay the ground work for us to say good bye to one season and get ready for the next. Sure, there's a misstep every now and then, like the day I remember coming home from school before Halloween, and seeing my neighbor DeeDee Boyle dashing to a car, covering herself to protect her from the VERY wet snow that was falling... Or the time my friend from middle school and I were taking pictures of each other in sundresses and sandals in January, when the temperature reached a balmy 61*. But usually, the seasons beckon us, gradually, allowing us to get used to the change and accept it.

Not here... one day, its 98*, the next, its 88*, and the next, its 68*. BLAMO - just like that. From flip flops to cashmere sweaters within a week. Kind of makes your head spin, just a bit!

No comments: