Winter

I got up, on this frosty morning, to find a sea-fog enveloping the silent, frigid world beyond my window.  My neighbourhood seems to be hibernating.  At this time, were it a summer morning, my beach-side  suburb would be buzzing and vibrant.  Yet, out there, under this  ghostly, drifting fog - there is now only stillness and silence.  A world still sleeping.  A world: cold; dormant; waiting.  Almost dreamlike - with the thick fog blanketing us.  A legacy of the even colder night before. 

There are  no cars to be heard in the street now.  No voices of local children playing in their yards, or teenagers kicking a football on the road out the front - intermittently calling out 'car!' before they grab their ball and wait on the footpath. No neighbours chatting over fences, no people talking and laughing as they walk down our road to the beach - only  100 meters west of our bungalow.  No-one is going to the beach on this icy morning: to  swim; or to watch pods of dolphins playing along the shoreline; or to fish from the beach, with the occasional pelican resting beside them, as they sit on their eskies; or to watch the many small fishing-boats, out since before dawn in the summer months,  dotting the horizon on the glimmering, sapphire ocean; or to lounge on the warm sand and watch the clouds drift by in the endless azure sky above - beyond the palm trees and Norfolk pines  lining my beach;  or to watch the white sails of yachts glide like swans across the water.  Those are things for summer.  Those are the memories that keep us warm now, and hopeful for a time distant -  beyond the spring.  

It is winter and the beach is transformed.  The ocean is now a grey-green. Sullen and unfriendly. Waves crash and sea-foam litters the empty beach. Our beach is cold; deserted. However, as the cold air burns my cheeks during these winter months, and the powerful wind catches my  hair and whips it around in a wild confusion, and I  taste the salt and smell the ocean blowing ashore from far out beyond the grey horizon - the beach holds a different charm.  A winter charm.  An atmosphere  of danger in the mountainous, violent waves crashing onto the shore. Invigorating. Exciting. Dramatic.  An atmosphere similar to the one  I imagined out on the wild moor in England - in tales like Wuthering heights - although mine is a nautical environ.  The heavy dark clouds menacing overhead.  Wild.

Yes, winter can be fun and cosy and a nice change after a long hot summer. 

I know that in the northern hemisphere - the summer has either arrived - or it is about to, depending on the country in which you live and therefore the different dates at which summer officially starts.  Half your luck.  Enjoy.  You've all had your winter - and you deserve some sun and warmth. You deserve what we have had for at least the last six months - through our summer and then through the Indian summer we enjoyed this autumn.  

Summer will mean:  long sunny days;  alfresco coffees and meals under large umbrellas or shady trees or verandahs; country and/or beach walks; vibrant colours and fragances of flowers; swimming in  lakes and beaches and pools: holidays; ice-creams; and lazy, warm days reading novels and news-papers outside.  Bliss.

The onset of the summer season varies around the world.

In Australia, the seasons begin on the first of the months: December 1st - summer, March 1st  - autumn, June 1st - winter, September 1st - spring.

In countries such as the UK, Denmark, Ireland and Australia - the seasons are decided according to the Roman calendar - with the seasons decided by the hottest and coldest quarters of the year and beginning on the first of the month.

For countries such as the US - the seasons are determined astrologically - and begin at the soltice and equinoxes: spring - March 19-22, summer - June 19-23, autumn - September 21-24, winter - December 20-23.

The winter soltice - here in the southern hemisphere, or summer soltice if you live in the northern hemisphere, will occur next Saturday June 21st.  This, for some countries, will mark the  beginning of the season of summer. 

Soltice is a word derived from the Latin words - sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still).

This is because at the soltices the sun stands still in declination.  The sun reaches the highest and lowest excursion relative to the equator.

The day of the sotice is the longest day of the year  (in summer) or the shortest day of the year (in winter) - for any place outside the tropics.

Places  on the arctic circle (latitude 66 degrees North) will see the sun just on the horizon during midnight - and all places north of that will see the sun above the horizon for 24 hours (ie the sun will never set).  This is the midnight sun.

Places on the antarctic (latitude 66 degrees South) will see the sun just on the horizon during midday, and all places south of it will not see the sun above the horizon at any time of the day (ie there will be no daylight at all).  This is the polar night. For Adelaide, during June, our daylight hours will amount to almost 10 hours.

I talk about our cold winter.  However, I am aware that this is a relative concept.

Anyone reading this might have a different understanding of the word cold - depending on your own experiences of winter and cold weather.  I will therefore be more specific about our Adelaide winter weather.

The temperature in Adelaide is currently 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit). The humidity is 100% (hence the fog).

Today our maximum temperature will be 17C (62F) and our minimum will be 11C (52F). The wind will rise to a maximum of 2km/hour.

The average temperature for an Adelaide winter day is: maximum  15-16C (59-61F); minimum 7-8C (45-46F).  We have no appreciable snowfall (rarely a few flakes on top of our Mount Lofty).

In contrast, our average maximum summer temperature is 29C (84F).

Adelaide has a temperate climate.  Temperate latitudes lie between the tropics and the polar regions. In temperate climates the changes in weather, between summer and winter, are generally relatively moderate - rather than extreme hot and cold.  Although, in some areas, in these latitudes, such as  Asia and central North America, the variations between summer and winter can be extreme - because these areas are far away from the sea - causing those places  to have a Continental climate.

Adelaide has  a variant of Temperate climate  known as Mediterranean, where the summers are hot and the winters are mild.

So, depending on where you live in the world, and, as such, your experiences with cold weather, people reading this will either feel terribly sorry for us poor shivering Adelaideans - or you will snigger and sniff, in disgust, at my whinging about the cold, that I have no idea what real cold weather is.  

I live in Australia - so if you are reading this  in Europe or the northern states of the US, or in Canada, or in the northern states in Asia - then you are completely correct.  We don't really understand what it is like to live in very cold climates.  It is likely similar to how we see people visiting Australia - who know little about the extreme heat of our Australian summers - especially inland.

So, to give me some perspective about our winter weather - I've researched a little to find the coldest inhabited area on Earth.  It is a place called Oymyakon in Russia - where the average winter temperature is minus 50C (minus 58F). Although, its lowest recorded temperature was minus 71.2C (minus 96.1F) back in 1924. Oymyakon lies a two day drive from the regional capital city of Yakutsk - which itself has the lowest winter temperature of any city in the world.

Oymyakon ironically means 'unfrozen water'.  This is due to the thermal spring located nearby.  Originally, the location was used by reindeer herders who would water their flocks at the warm springs.

The ground in Yakutsk and Oymyakon is frozen and crops therefore cannot grow.  The population survives mostly on meat - especially fish (raw arctic fish, white salmon, whitefish).

The ground is so hard that it is hard to dig graves.  So before a funeral the ground needs to be warmed with a bonfire.

The frozen ground also makes it difficult for working indoor plumbing, so most toilets are outhouses.

Cars need to be kept in heated garages.  If a car is left outside - it won't start. 

Planes cannot fly into the area in winter.

Frostbite can occur within minutes.  

Summer in Yakutsch and Oymyakon are relatively warm - with the average temperature in the mid 60's- 70's F (mid teens - mid 20's C) and even up to 94F (34C).  Although the winters are long and the summers are short.

So back to winter in Adelaide.  Maybe our weather is not as cold as many places in the world - but for those of us unacclimatised to harsh winters - this weather  is enough of a struggle for us.

Many of my older patients are migrating en masse up to the north of Australia for the winter.  They take off in their caravans, or fly, or drive their cars to places like Brisbane in southern Queensland, or Cairnes in far north Queensland, or even Darwin in the Northern Territory.  They leave around this time of the year - annually - and they don't return for three to five months.  They often catch up with the same groups of retirees, from many different Southern Australian towns and cities, who do the same thing every year. They wink at me, before they leave, when I tell them how I envy them leaving this cold weather.  They tell me - my time will come once I retire and my children grow up.  Maybe.

My patients, and even some of my friends, tell me that they also find themselves becoming a bit depressed in the colder, less sunny months.  Some of my friends and patients have  said that they  put on weight in the winter.  

In fact, there is a disorder, which is documented in the well respected and standard reference Psychiatry textbook The Diagnostic and Statisical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV), called 'Seasonal Affective Disorder' (SAD) which is a form of recurrent major depression which occurs seasonally - mainly in the winter. This form of depression remits completely at other times of the year.

People with this condition experience serious mood changes when the seasons change.  They may sleep too much, become lethargic, feel depressed, have reduced libido, overeat - especially carbohydrates which often leads to weight gain during these months, and they may withdraw from friends, family and social activities.

All of this can lead to depression, pessimistic feelings and feelings of hopelessness.

The seasonal mood variation is thought to be related to the variation in the amount of light with the different seasons.  An argument for this is that 'light therapy'(sunlight or bright lights) is often an effective treatment for this form of depression, and the incidence of SAD increases at latitudes closer to the poles - where, in winter, the days are shorter. For example, the incidence of SAD in North finland - 9.5%; Ireland - 20%; Netherlands - 10%; Alaska - 9%, Florida - 1.4%.

A milder form of depressed mood in winter, The 'winter blues' is even more common than SAD.

I would advise anyone who feels depressed at any time - whether it may be seasonal or not, to see their local doctor and seek support and help from friends and/or family.  Note that you are never alone and, if the first person you seek help from is not supportive enough for you - then persist in seeking help from other people until you get the help and support you need.  You are important and loved, by the rest of us humans, and as the poem Desiderata  says - you are valuable and a child of the universe - you have a right to be here.  I also say that you have a right to ask for help, when needed, to feel better.

The depression of SAD - can also be treated in the more conventional ways too - antidepressant medication, possibly just through the winter months, and cognitive-behavoural therapy (CBT).  Your doctor could help you with all of this.  He or she could also be someone for you to talk to; or they could  help you to problem-solve specific issues; and/or put you in touch with other people for social support and help - groups for friendship and support. 

Well, in a timely fashion - I have just looked out into my garden from the window of my 'home-office' (AKA: dining room table) - later now in the morning, since I began writing this blog entry, and the sun has returned! The fog is gone. The world is glistening.  The sky is  blue with fleecy clouds scattered across it.  Beautiful.   

The world beyond my window has awoken and, within my house, my family are also now all up and out of bed.  The quiet misty ethereal morning  has been replaced by shouting, talking, laughing, running footsteps,  televisions, Nintendos … so many noises and so much activity.   

Over the last half hour, as I wrote,  my 11 year old daughter brought me steaming hot pancakes which she made in the kitchen.  As she cooked she  chatted with her dad, David, and her siblings, who all sat around her like sea-gulls - waiting for the next batch of pancakes - to swoop.  

My dear husband also brought me a lovely plunger-coffee - Mocca Java flavour - he grinds his own beans (quite the connoisseur).  I usually just drink a flat white espresso. My cat, Lilly, is now sitting at my feet - next to my bar-heater - and  my other children have intermittently dropped by my dining-table office to chat with me, or give me morning cuddles. Winter can be cosy … and lovely in its own way.

I will leave this snug place now, alas, to get out into the world myself - and begin the chores of my day. 

I will first, however, finish this week's blog  with the lovely speech from one of my favourite movies, Groundhog day.  It is the speech where the character Phil 'the weatherman' (played by Bill Murray), addresses the camera and the crowd on the Groundhog Day:

When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope.  Yet, we know, that winter is just another step in the cycle of life.  But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter.

Plus, a winter Poem:

                                                   Winter-Time

                               (Robert Louis Stevenson;  1850-1894)

Late lies the wintery sun a-bed,

A frosty, fiery sleepy-head:

Blinks but an hour or two; and then,

A blood-red orange, sets again.

Before the stars have left the skies,

At morning in the dark I rise;

And shivering in my nakedness,

By the cold candle, bathe and dress.

Close by the jolly fire I sit

To warm my frozen bones a bit;

Or with a reindeer sled, explore

The colder countries round the door.

When to go, my nurse doth wrap

Me in my comforter and cap;

The cold wind burns my face, and blows

Its frosty pepper up my nose.

Black are my steps on silver sod;

Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;

And tree and house, and hill and lake,

And frosted like a wedding-cake.

If you live in cooler climes, like me on this June day -  stay warm and remember, as I  constantly remind myself,  no matter how cold the air and the wind and the rain - the people you love and the people who love you will keep you warm in your heart and bring sunshine to your world - wherever you are and whatever the temperature.  For, no sun could ever bring so much light and warmth to your life as love and friendship and happy times you remember and enjoy.  That is the place from where real warmth derives.

Also, a hot brew of coffee, or tea if you prefer, and a piece of cake, and an interesting conversation, a good laugh, a wonderful story - in a conversation, or in a novel, or in a movie - will brighten your day - during any season of the year.

I have a lovely chocolate cake recipe, in my recent blog on Birthdays - which you could get into the oven in less than 10 minutes.  Easy.  Warming.  Yummy.  Economical.

Have a lovely week.  And if you live in the Northern hemisphere - enjoy your summer!  Half your luck! - as we say in Australia.