EQUINOXICALLY SPEAKING

My body clock is out of sync, my timing is all off. I had become quite skilled at waking in the morning, opening a bleary eye, and judging by the light peeping round the edge of the blind, guessing the time. A check of the clock would verify I was usually around five minutes out, never more than ten, but having reached the autumnal equinox three days ago that has suddenly changed. I woke up this morning, figured it for around 6am so was prepared to attempt to doze off again, only to find it was 6.55am and no chance for more snoozing. The only signs of autumn so far are the leaves starting to turn yellow on the poplar trees, always the first to succumb to the change of seasons.

I wonder if any research has been done into people’s connections to the season in which they were born. Afraid I’m too lazy to find out, but I was born into a late English autumn, and have to admit the temperate climate suits me down to the ground. After eight years living in Brisbane’s steamy humidity where you really do go troppo and the urge to peel off your skin as well as every piece of clothing is a daily occurrence for six months of the year, I much prefer living 40 degrees south and far happier to put on an extra layer to get warm rather than running out of layers to discard because it’s too hot. Five or six months of a roaring fire every evening always ends with a sense of disappointment when the spring weather decrees that the lounge room fire is no longer needed, for the cosiness disappears along with it.

Beautiful autumn day today, but I guess I’ll have to start thinking about firewood soon, the one and only drawback of a wood heater. Both the cost and the fact trees are being sacrificed for my comfort, but I’m afraid an electric reverse cycle heat pump just doesn’t cut it for me. No atmosphere, nothing to gaze into on those long winter nights, nothing to toast your marshmallows in front of, nothing to cook spuds in when you get a power blackout and it’s the only option left for cooking. Give me a fire any time.

My body clock will probably just start getting used to readjusting, then comes the next hurdle, the end of daylight saving.