The beginning of summer
It finally arrived
I can now finally confidently say that summer has arrived in Umeå, the North of Sweden. I have always loved summer, it is quite a special time of the year, for several reasons.
The winter is quite cold and rather long, with lots of snow, ice and minus-degrees so as soon as it gets warmer, everyone is out and about, enjoying the sunshine.
The difference from the darkness to the light is quite tough at times, our eyes need a period of adjustment to get used to it, especially when some snow is still left and reflects the light.
We are so far up north that we don’t have nights here in summer, it basically looks like during the say in the middle off the night. The longest day is the 21st of June, midsummer, but from May till July we can experience very long summer nights.
If you need darkness to sleep: blackout curtains are one way to go, or an eye mask, or anything else that covers your eyes. Initially it needs a bit of discipline and attention to notice when its time to go to bed, cos the energy is almost endless.
For me personally, I have a very specific ritual that occurs every summer, that really makes me feel that summer has started: it is the preparation of my balcony and therefore the room I spend most time on during the summer.
As I have recently explored my poetry writings a bit more extensively, I have decided to write a little poem about this special time of the year & share it with you. Here it comes:
How do you feel about summer?
Love,
Daria