A swift end to Summer...? Let's hope not...

“But in nothing are swifts more singular than in their early retreat. They retire, as to the main body of them, by the tenth of August, and sometimes a few days sooner: and every straggler invariably withdraws by the twentieth”. Gilbert White  The Natural History of Selborne 1789

         He’s right, damn him. It’s the 7^th of August and I’ve just realized that I haven’t heard a swift in a few days and seen only one or two. As I said in a previous thread, few things symbolize summer more - in the city at least - than swifts screeching through the skies between the buildings. But does they’re parting symbolize the end of summer? In principle, not at all but it is a sign…

         What is it about summer anyway? What’s its significance? We grow up as children and associate summer with freedom. Freedom from school. Freedom from the humdrum or the routine. As adults, we associate it with freedom too. Unless it involves going to Center parks. But, yes, holidays or beer gardens or taking up tennis or whatever activity it may be that requires relative warmth and no rain. Either way, it’s about being more alive. Which makes sense. In summer everything else is alive. All of nature reveals itself. And this leads to my point. Prior to finding this particular Gilbert White quote regarding the swifts I was thinking about this summer’s continuing magnificence YET it’s imminent demise. So, discovering this particular one seemed pertinent to my thoughts. Ridiculous, you may say, I should be living in the moment, enjoying this glorious weather.  I am, of course, summer is the ultimate season to be in the moment, as it’s the season when we are freest to just “be”. We don’t need to worry about putting on a coat, turning on the heating, staying warm etc., all of which are necessary the rest of the year. It’s when we can get closest to nature. Another means by which we can just “be”. Of course, we have to stay cool in these hot summers, but that is ultimately a nice worry to have, unless you’re stuck on a London tube for too long. Moving into August, however, the last month of summer technically, it is inevitable, for me at least, that it’s on its way out. Truthfully, lamenting something's passing when it’s still here is rather dumb but I can’t help it. Whenever I think of August I feel a bit emotional, who knows why? Decades ago, when I was a football fan, August, the start of the season, was an exciting time. Pop songs were always good in August when I listened to pop songs. Maybe it’s just a nice time of year? It is often the nicest of the summer months but it’s been so splendid since May that it will do well to achieve that this year.

           Summers this hot, dry and long are slightly incongruous in this country. This is the green and pleasant land for a reason. Over two months of almost constant Mediterranean heat is an extraordinary thing, but it’s odd. And it’s also rare, unless the doomsday scenario proves otherwise. So let’s make the most of it. The petunias certainly are. They’re positively proclaiming the power and beauty of nature and the strength that summer gives. The tomatoes are building up a fair head of steam and there’s plenty of insects buzzing about. It’s this burst of life that I’m talking about. It literally gives me a buzz. Mosquitoes aside, which are a menace and rather psychotic here in North London. I remember as a kid, my uncle who lived in London at the time telling me about the mosquitoes in this part of the world. I didn't quite believe him. Growing up in Glasgow I thought mosquitoes only lived in Africa. My basil has grown beautifully but been destroyed but some pest or another, the lavender is attempting a comeback and the scabious remains the main draw for my small but loyal band of bees.

          The birds are quiet, they tend to be in August but there’s been a couple of new and welcome visitors. Frederico the frog now has a friend, or certainly some company. Time will tell if they become friends. The second frog appeared on Saturday night, ate something then disappeared behind a plant. Frogs are useful in the garden; they eat slugs amongst other things so make sure there’s always somewhere damp for them to spend time if you have no pond. The other visitor was a green bush cricket, a striking lime green beastie with big red eyes that seem to look straight at you. I had seen it earlier in the day when I trimmed a tree but it reappeared on Saturday night on the table and circulated several times around it before disappearing. Most amusing.

            So there it is. Who knows what further visitors and experiences are to occur this summer but I’m living in the moment either way.