Where were you when the arse fell out of ‘er? I’m not talking the economy or the stock market, I’m talking July temps in Newfoundland. July 19th to be exact, but we’ve had a few off-temp days this summer. 

There we all were, minding our own business – either mowing grass, enjoying a cocktail on the deck or just starting up the barbecue – when the temp saucily dipped a full ten degrees in one hour. Oh! The cruel reality of NL’s can-creep-up-or-down-on-ya centigrade! 

When it’s in the mid to high 20s and it suddenly dips to the teens, you feel it. Fast. It’s like a reverse hot flash; there you were all one cozy temp when suddenly, BAM! You’re a not quite as enjoyable one. But, as we’re known to do, us Newfoundlanders make the most of it. 

Staying the course 

We trade in our can coolers for a toasty toddy and our ts and tanks for thermal drawers and wool socks and simply stay the course. The lawn still gets mowed, the meal is still grilled and the evening is made the most of. Bring it on!

So, as we face the last wee bit of summer, how’s your been? Was the summer of 2019 one for the memory books for any particular reason? Were the icebergs plentiful and majestic enough and did the whales breach, pleasing the eye and the soul often enough for you to also snap a pic or two? 

How about the fishing? Did you catch your quota with ease? Was the wind at your back and the sun on your brow, and bow, each time you set sail?  Did you hit the beach a time or two? Even on days some would refer to as sweater weather? And did you make the most of it anyway? Did you catch a connor? 

Hearty nl heritage

Build a sand castle? Bury one another in the sand? Did you find the perfect shell, rock or piece of sea-smoothed and wave-on-rock perfected glass? 

Did you splash in the sea or dip in a pool? 

Hopefully you did all that and then some, never minding if the temps were high, low or somewhere in between, even within the span of an hour, cause as we know quite well here in this province, that can, and does, happen. 

The most important thing to do under these interesting circumstances is this; cling to that hearty NL heritage and just go with the flow, because ‘round here, life’s only a beach, or that other ‘b’ word,  if you ‘lows it.

Pam Pardy Ghent, The Herald’s Managing Editor, can be reached by emailing [email protected]