Is summer overrated?

Just walked from my office to the library, an enjoyable habit that helps break up the day. And holy mother of god is it hot out. I texted my fiance (btw, I hate that word) and told her about the climate outside, and she said, "Summers are overrated. Best time to not work is spring/fall. Happy to be in a cool office."

I'm not a big fan of summer -- I burn easily and applying sunscreen is a pain in the stem -- but I'd never quite gotten to a point where I considered it overrated. I think kids are brainwashed into loving summers because they're out of school; but other than swimming in people's pools or going to the beach, i.e., cooling off because it's so damn hot, there's not a lot to say for summer.

You want to sit outside in a baseball stadium in, say, D.C., in the middle of July? Be my effing guest. Same goes for concerts or festivals. Much better experiences in the spring or fall.

Camping? It's fun, sure. But only if you're with the right people who won't complain about the bugs or the humidity.

Yup, I think summer is vastly overrated. Unless you can get to a climate that's cooler than the one you live in for a vacation. Then it can work well. Like I just got back from Ireland one month ago. It was like 65 degrees every day -- and barely rained. My daughter could go with me because she had just gotten out of school.

But in the United States, all summer vacations are basically beach- or lake-related. I'm not a boater, but maybe I should become one.

If I had to rate the seasons, strictly from a weather perspective:
1. Spring
2. Fall
3. Summer
4. Winter (which really sucks now that I'm getting older and don't ski anymore)

 

I'll take summer over any other season — hell, over any other two seasons.

Around here, we have four months of winter, 10 days of spring, 20 days of fall and the rest is summer. I'm cold-blooded (and maybe part reptile), so summer suits me just fine.

 

Where we talking? Arizona or some climate like that?

 

No.

 

I hear you, CDB. I tend to end up around people who think summer is the greatest thing on Earth.

I fully get it from my teaching friends. The rest? No thanks.

I can breathe when it's 40 degrees outside. Ninety with steamy air blowing all over the place? You can have it.

Think I would have to go Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer. Of course, it depends on where one is. In Colorado, winter is much worse than where I am, but if the crews will get out and clean off the roads - that wasn't a given in some places I was over three-plus years - then winter really isn't bad.

It's rarely any big deal where I am now. And the summers can be plain nasty ... with massive thunderboomers and hurricanes about the only things cooling off things, mainly because they're unstable cells that feed off hot, moist weather systems.

 

Hall of Fame post

 

I'm Canadian, man. Summer is all we have, apart from everything that's awesome about living here.

 

I admit that playing golf in upstate Vermont in late August is quite nice bc it’s considerably cooler and less humid than southern New England. And I remember fondly family vacations to Montreal, Quebec, Toronto and Stratford in August in the late 1980s.

Fuck it, that seals it; I’m planning a summer vacation to Canada again soon. My fiancé has a lot of family in the Toronto area and they are always hectoring her to come visit. And they looove their pot, which is fine by me.

 

Toronto in the summer can be very hot and VERY humid which is fine if I'm working. On the other hand we're in Northern Ontario (Manitoulin Island) this week and days are hot and sunny but not humid and the evenings cool down perfectly for sleeping. As someone who is allergic to humidity, life in Toronto without A/C can be pretty brutal. On the other hand ... late September/early October anywhere in Ontario is gorgeous and probably my favourite season (although I love winter in a way that appalls JR).

 

“that appalls”

 

Fixed. Happy?

 

Come to London. Except for the odd day in July and August - and the occasional heat wave every few years - you sure won't have to worry about that here.

I was out with some friends on Sunday and it was this golden afternoon. Brilliant but coolish and a bit of a snap in the air. In other words, a brilliant Autumn day. Again.