L'été & les Canicules

Things have slowed down in the past week. With the Tour de France has moved on to the South of France. The World Cup is all over, except for the lingering depression of the French fans. I just realized the other day that it is the middle of July. Summer is half gone.

Regarding the title of this post - L'été & les Canicules. Forgive me if it sounds pretentious, but these two words are the topic of much discussion these days. The French word for Summer is "été. If you do crossword puzzles, then sooner or later you learn this word. "Canicule" is the french word for "heatwave".

The springtime was very mild this year. Days were cool (60s) and rain was frequent. This lasted into the first week of June. Then the summer finally came to stay. For the past 5 or 6 weeks, the days have been sunny and the skies mostly clear. The normal daily high temperatures have been in the upper 80s or low 90s.

Now these temperatures are fairly normal for the summer....but theys still qualify as a heatwave. You see, most of the country does not have air conditioning. When the heat of summer comes, the people adjust their lifestyle rather than their thermostat. If France is known for its outdoor cafe's, then it is with good reason. No one wants to sit inside ... it's too hot. Similarly, if it seems that the people dine late...say 8 pm or 9 pm... then that's because it is more comfortable to come out at that time of evening.

The intro picture shows Theresa and Irma (Gabi's mom) re-hydrating in a cafe. Irma returned to Strassbourg the first week of June and will now stay until it is all over...sometime in December probably.

The picture above shows two ways that Alsatians adjust to summer. The first is that they leave their doors open. The second is they drink cold beer. Regarding the second point, it seems that wheat beers are more popular during the summer. Don't know why. Regarding the first point, we are lucky that our apartment was built for the heat of summer. If we open all the doors and windows, we get a great cross breeze going that keeps things tolerable both day and night. Excepting on humid days, when no amount of breeze will cool. On these days, you have to find refuge by going to the movies or driving in an airconditioned car.Finally, it amazes me that one can measure the passing of the summer in Alsace just the same as in Indiana. The first cutting of hay was in early June. The corn is doing well - more than knee high by the fourth of July. The cherries and strawberries and peas are beginning to fade from the markets and are now being replaced by raspberries and blueberries and green beans. The wheat harvest has been going full force the last week or so, as shown by the picture above.