Seasons

Those of you who live, as many do, in the more Northerly or Southerly latitudes will be accustomed to having seasons.

The further North or South you go the more protracted the night/day becomes as you approach the mid-winter solstice.

Temperatures can vary hugely as does the height of the sun in the sky or, once you are nearer the poles than the Arctic or Antarctic Circles then the sun either does not leave the sky or never appears depending on that season.

Midsummer at Midnight on the Arctic Circle

Many years ago, as an experiment, I put a dot on the wall of my office in Kuala Lumpur at the same time each day. The dot coincided with the point at which a scaffolding pole cast a shadow on that wall. The scaffolding pole was part of the construction of the Kuala Lumpur Tower on Bukit Nanas (Pineapple Hill) – a place I have yet to visit!

Kuala Lumpur Tower

Strange that often people will come from far and wide to visit a particular point of interest near where you live and yet you will not have been there. It is always, “We must go and see that (at some point in the future)!”

Thus it was for us and a local wooden house that had stood the test of time and was full of interesting artefacts. It failed, however, to stand the test of fire!

Back in my office adjacent, nearly, to Bukit Nanas, the end result was a partial circle that almost encompassed the wall. The circle was partial because I was not in that office for a whole year. My compatriot and I were ousted, under shameful circumstances, by the owners of the office and the company that had hired us.

Imagine going to the Arctic Circle and trying the same thing. The circle would be vast. This shows the extremes that we have on this varied planet.

It shows that, although we are close to the equator here in Kuala Lumpur, there is still variation. The sun does not always describe the same route through the sky each day.

We could be said to have no seasons. Because the declination of the sun in the sky is so limited it would be reasonable to suppose that there is no difference in the climate from season to season.

But we have a rainy season and a ‘dry’ season – that is rarely actually ‘dry’!

More to the point, the flora and fauna know about seasons. There are mating seasons for animals and especially or insects. Cicadas are quite specific in their breeding requirements. We also get the ‘Marriage of the Ants’ on a regular basis at certain times of the year when we have to block the gaps around the doors to prevent the house filling with insects discarding their wings.

These are bountiful days for the house lizards – chik-chaks, that inhabit anywhere that has a possibility of bugs or very small chik-chaks!

Chik-Chak (Common House Gecko)

The main thing about seasons here is that the plants are sensitive to them. We cannot, for example, get our beloved Durian fruits all year ‘round. Rambutans (Literally: Hair Fruit), like other fruits, are seasonal.

Many ex-pats tell me that the only thing they miss about their home countries are the seasons. My wife tell me she misses snow.

I call my wife ‘Miss England’ because she often says that she misses England, or Scotland, depending upon the source of the reminder.

It is true that I drove through a blizzard in a Subaru Legacy (Four Wheel Drive, thankfully) to transport wife and small boy to Glen Shee so that could play with his toboggan in the deep snow. I stayed in the car with a flask of strong coffee (Kopi Hang Tuah) and the heater going full blast.

Glen Shee

Sometimes I wonder how the people of the far North survive in the dark days when there is no sun at all and the temperatures drop blow survivable levels, which, for me, are around 22˚C.

Just out of curiosity, the Arctic Circle has been named quite recently. The ‘Arctic’ itself comes from the Greek word for ‘Bear’ so the Arctic is ‘The Land of the Bears’.

Similarly, the ‘Antarctic’ means ‘farthest from the Land of the Bears’. In the same way, the Antipodes is also from the Greek meaning ‘against, or opposite, the foot’ and referred to people from the other side of the Earth.

It is in the Arctic and Antarctic that we have the most varied of the seasons even if it never gets really warm enough for anything other than Caribou and Seals.

Leaving wood out over time to ‘season’ the timber is an ancient device for improving the wood.

But salt and pepper? Condiments? For ‘seasoning’ the food? Hmm. That is something else entirely! This is from the Old French word ‘assaisoner’ to ripen or season because fruit becomes more palatable as it ripens. The word was not applied to timber until the mid 1500’s when it also meant ‘to copulate with’!

‘Seasoning’ also refers to:

1.           Something added or mixed to enhance pleasure or enjoyment, or give spice and relish: as, wit or humour serves as a seasoning to eloquence.

2.           In diamond-cutting, the charging of the laps or wheels with diamond-dust and oil.

3.           In leather manufacturing, the application of a solution of blood and logwood preparatory to blacking.

‘Aerosmith’ sang about ‘Seasons of Wither’, a wonderful song – as many of ‘Aerosmith’s’ productions are apt to be.

Surprisingly, even the Sahara Desert has seasons but most of us will be fortunate enough to never have to experience them!

Wherever you live, enjoy your seasons, you may not find other people’s so comfortable.