Live in an Oven

"It's too hot", "It's too cold", "It's too normal", "It's not normal enough".

Being English, I like the rest of us, I am prone to complaining about everything.... most of all the weather.

However, I have a reason to complain today. The news report this morning basically said .......DON'T GO OUTSIDE. Apparently the solar radiation was peaking causing immense heat and obvious health risks. The temperature today at peak was at 47*C and is now sitting at 44*C at 4pm. The skies are blue the sun is out and everything looks amazing ....and all the locals are complaining. I, despite the constant drip of sweat from my nose, am loving the weather, it's good its too warm for words and there is no place to be dry in the shade it is 40*C and indoors its worse than outside.

However, it's now 4pm so we are braving the river, covered in sun screen. Being English I have never been in such temperatures as we always go on holiday outside of these heats ......and I see why! However, when you live here ......what can you do? .......suffer it, or enjoy it. I choose the latter by remembering how bitterly cold the alternative is. 

The plus points though .....going to a tree and pulling off a fresh, juicy peach, nicely warmed by the summer sun and digging in to it and being able to sit outside wearing only a pair of shorts, hunting for shooting stars among the milky way. 

Enjoy Summer! Whatever type of summer you have!

Devastation

So where are we at? It's a strange one. I woke up this morning wanting to write a blog, but had the strange suspicion that we were still out of electricity and would need to further save my battery on my phone. How right I was!

Last night's storm was the worst I have seen to date. However, my regional representative assures me that it is not the worst that is to come. Devastation has swept the villages south of the western Greater Caucasus mountains. Crops have been flattened fruit torn from trees and lie bruised on the ground, rivers have flooded many farmers fields and the damage is quite costly to a lot of people's livelihood.

I have not properly assessed the damage to our own crops as of yet. However, if it is a fraction on what I have seen this morning, things will not be looking good.

BUT WHERE IS MY ELECTRIC?!

I'll tell you! Lying in the bloody river!

How many times I told the folk of the village, "If you fix the problem now it wont be a problem"

Truly a stitch in time does save nine! Now we have an electric mast lying in the river with the electric cables it once supported drooping down into the water below.

I can't be too sad and in fact I really value the life I have been given, after seeing what I saw this morning. This is because it was only when I noticed the cause of the outage that I realise the damage happened when we were in the second river. If this makes you wonder about the relevance of I was has on this situation. It was only after a debate that we went to this river! We were going to go to the first river and would have been in the river when the cable fell.

Sometimes you just have to trust your gut and something about that day made me not want to go!

So.... Although there is light at the end of the tunnel, I do hope my electric comes back on.

Also, just to set the record straight, although this is very severe weather and it is across most of Europe. This is not the end of the world. Those of an older generation, and those that can remember back will remember severe changes when the seasons change .....it is only in the years of late that have seen the seasons blend. If anything this weather is more normal than what we have seen in previous years, but it doesn't mean we are prepared for it!

Until next time ........................Whenever that may be.