The past few days have provided the Northeast US with the kind of magically perfect weather rarely found elsewhere. Costa Rica has a similar climate from late January to early March, when the vegetation is lush from the previous months of torrential rain, but the air is bone dry and the sun shines hard from an extraordinary blue sky. However, the subtropical sun is fast and high. In the North Atlantic, the heavens stay luminous for 15 hours. Birds start chirping in the dry trees at 3 am and the exquisite light fades out after 9 pm. This rare combination of rampant growth and dry air is the cherries jubilee of weather.
Perfection can be annoying if I want to screw around, rather than weed and water all day. Mulch helps, but only if applied beforehand. To enjoy the wide spectrum of colors and textures, I have to rise early and catch the fresh, diffuse light of dawn. On the other hand, late June evenings capture the essence of the proverbial endless summer, and many flowers reveal an incandescent brilliance suppressed by the intense midday sun.
Now the humid air has wrapped its massive arms around the woods and gardens, silencing the birds. Even the bugs hide.
Maybe there’s a connection. . . .