I Know It's Summer, But...

I know that summer in Minnesota tends to be pretty short. We seem to have winter for about 7 months of the year, damp pre-spring for about 6 weeks followed by 2 weeks of spring, and a couple of months of fall. That only leaves us with about a month to get in all of summer. 

And although I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the 7 months of winter (who am I kidding? I tend to really dislike about 4 of those months), I kind of like the short period of really hot, steamy weather. 

You see, I went to grad school in southwest Ohio, where the school was in an area where three rivers all kind of converged. It was medically known to cause major allergic flare-ups for people because all of the particulates would get trapped in the river valleys. And it also made for hot and humid days - and nights. 

After that, I moved to Baltimore. Which - for those who have problems with geography - is located on one arm of the Chesapeake Bay. It's coastal. It's south of the Mason-Dixon line. In the middle of summer it is downright swampy. It's the kind of place that is great to visit in spring (which starts in February/March) or fall (which goes all the way through November). 

Part of why I moved to Minnesota was so that I could have more liveable summers. And - for me - that means cooler, and less humid. Okay. So the whole "being on the Mississippi River" thing tends to add to the humidity, but it's supposed to be cooler, at least. 

And, for the most part, it is. Which makes me very happy. Even so, when it's really warm, it makes me whiny. So, tonight, I'm sitting in the air conditioned house, very glad that I'm not outside. And tomorrow, when the air conditioner at the office doesn't quite keep up with the demand, I'll be very happy that our office at least has a fan. 

And, yes, I know there are people who live here who really like the heat, so if you see me on the street, I'll do my best to say things like "It's supposed to cool off after a day or two..." instead of being too whiny.