Sweet & Sour Summer

In Perth, late October and early November finally brings some relief to the weary Perthonians from the harsh and grueling winter. By "harsh and grueling" I'm referring to the weather from May to September where the daily high is usually in the high teens to low twenties and the overnight low is normally around 10 degrees C. Okay, so maybe the weather in Perth, in what is officially considered to be "the winter", isn't so bad. However, this winter Perth experienced one of it's wettest and coolest periods in decades. What we'd normally expect to see from Perth in the winter is partly cloudy skies with the occasional shower and the aforementioned temperatures. This year, instead of the occasional shower we received occasional rain; that is to say that there was more precipitation than normal. Although, someone from London or Vancouver would be breaking out their bathers and sunscreen, in Perth it was really wet and cold. But since we've lived here for almost exactly two years now (gulp) we've certainly become acclimatized to the weather and as a result we are completely within our rights to complain bitterly if the mercury falls below 20 and/or a single cloud is spotted on the horizon. In other words, we've gone soft mate.

Just this last week we finally got a reprieve from the frigid conditions and it appears as though summer is finally here. For weeks it's been about 22 degrees everyday and then it rocketed straight up to 37.  Summer in Perth is a double-edged sword. There is the good and the bad. So without further adieu here are the good (sweet) and bad (sour) things that summer brings to Perthites:

Good: Sunshine! Lots and lots of sunshine. We could potentially go days or even weeks without seeing any significant cloud cover.
Bad: UV! The weather forecast in Perth always includes the UV rating. In general, from November to March it's unusual to see a UV rating below "Extreme". If you're lucky you might get a day where the UV rating is only "High". So, this means sunscreen: lots and lots of sunscreen. Melanoma is a major concern here and many people that grew up in this area before sun safety was a thing are now experiencing some form of skin cancer. It's so bad that many employers provide an annual free skin cancer screening in their offices.

Good: Did I mention sunshine? Yeah, it's really sunny here a lot.
Bad: It almost never rains in the summer and when it does the amount is negligible. That means that water is in short supply which results in high water utility prices, limits on water use, browning front lawns and short showers.

Good: Which way to the beach? There's nothing better than going to some of the beautiful beaches that Pertharians enjoy on a hot summer day. There are some really good beaches in the Perth area. The best time to go to the beach is in the morning before the afternoon wind (or "Fremantle Doctor") kicks up. Often, in the morning, the water is calm and clear and perfect for swimming, snorkeling or simply wading.

Cottesloe Beach in Perth.

Bad: Rip tides, sharks, jelly fish. Two years ago Perth had a really bad problem with shark attacks. There were about 5 attacks in the span of 18 months making Western Australia the (temporary) shark attack capital of the world. Hurray for us!? Granted, the attacks didn't happen at the beach or even in the shallows but still it's a little intimidating to go into the water when you know there are Great White Sharks (and Bull Sharks, and Tiger Sharks, and Bronze Whalers...) swimming around looking for something to eat. However, the sharks are low on the list of beach dangers. More dangerous are the jellyfish. There are lots of jellyfish in the waters around Perth. Most of them are harmless or just a minor irritant. All of us have been stung by jellyfish since we've been here and it wasn't a big deal. However, at certain times of the year the Box Jellyfish move into the area and they ARE dangerous. Fortunately, their movements are monitored very closely and if they're anywhere near a beach the authorities close it ASAP. However, the most dangerous thing in the ocean is the ocean itself. Specifically, rip currents (also called "rip tides" or simply "rips") are responsible for more ocean deaths than all other factors combined. A rip is what happens when the water receding from the beach can't escape as fast as the water coming into the beach. As a result, it creates a strong current of water flowing away from the beach and literally can rip people out to sea. Generally, the rips are relatively easy to spot and there are warning signs in rip areas but, even so, many people get caught in them and some of them end up panicking and drowning.

The rough water between the arrows is a rip current.

Good: Despite temperatures that are regularly in the high 30's or even low 40's, almost every afternoon a cooling westerly ocean breeze gives the city some much needed respite from the heat. As mentioned above, this is referred to as the "Fremantle Doctor". "Fremantle" because that is the city/suburb southwest of Perth which is the same direction and the breeze originates from. "Doctor" because it provides so much relief from the soaring temperatures.  And it sounds close to the name of the AFL team the Fremantle Dockers.
Bad: The same southwesterly wind that provides relief to the overheated Perthers occasionally picks up a little more 'oomph' than is comfortable and can cause significant damage, including damaged roofs, trees uprooted and flying debris.

Damage from the most recent "storm of the century"

Good: Late spring brings wildflower season to southwestern WA. The fields come alive with the blooms of the myriad wildflowers. In some areas huge swaths of what was barren desert are blanketed with purple, blue, yellow, red, green, white and every other colour imaginable.

WA Wildflowers in spring

Bad: With the flowers come the (dramatic music) bugs: the flies, spiders and other irritating insects that make life outdoors, at times, unbearable. The flies in Perth are particularly miserable little bastards. They attack like kamikaze pilots and seem to have little or no concern for their own mortality. They swarm and buzz and constantly harass until they are either outrun or summarily dispatched to their great stinking rot heap in the sky. The warmer temperatures, in general, also means that there are a lot more of every insect and they are all on the lookout for whatever it is they lookout for. In some cases, that results in them looking out for stuff in our home. So a constant part of summer is clearing out the crickets, silverfish, moths, spiders and caterpillars from our house.
Ugly: This isn't really a "good" or "bad" but occasionally you run into a cool looking bug like this centipede that got stuck in our pool and died. This thing would be a lot less cool if it was still alive when we found it and even less so if we were in the pool with it.  It was about 8 inches long.  This is the stuff nightmares are made of.

That is a dead centipede.  He's met his maker, pushing up the daisies, left the reservation, he's snuffed it!

Good: Speaking of pools, summer means that we can spend more time in our pool. Not only is the temperature more conducive to swimming but now that there is also more daylight it allows us to go into the pool after work before the sun goes down.
Bad: Cleaning the pool, buying the pool chemicals, maintaining the pool system. That's the price one must pay I suppose. At this point, I'm still happy to do so.  I'm even happier when I can convince someone else to do it.

Good: With the warmer weather comes more available quantities and varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Bad: Hmmm...I can't really think of a downside to this, after all, more food=good. Well, I suppose there is one thing. While we're supposed to be out and active and getting back to our svelte summer beach physique (yeah right) there is more opportunity and temptation to eat and eat and eat and...

Good: Spring/Summer in Perth means that it's Autumn in the civilized world (ie. Northern Hemisphere). That also means that all of the new US television show seasons are starting and we finally have something to watch on TV besides Big Brother Australia, Australia's Got Talent, X-Factor Australia, The Voice Australia, Beauty and the Geek Australia and Breaking Bad.
Bad: Oh God! Breaking Bad is finished, like, forever! All of these crappy pseudo-reality talent shows go on forever and yet the greatest television show in history only has 5 seasons and ends in it's prime. But I digress, the real issue with the additional home entertainment options is that we should be outdoors doing something but instead we're hypnotized learning how a bunch of autistic nerds with a hot neighbor survive in the city; how some guy met someone's mother; what a modern family looks like; who's winning the game of thrones, etc. This also contributes to my un-svelte summer beach physique and general brain-rot.

Good: At this time of year it means that my favorite sports are in full swing. Both the NHL and NFL have begun in earnest. Yeah, hockey is back!
Bad: I can't watch any of the fricken hockey games. Most NFL games are played on Sunday's, however, here it's a Monday and I'm stuck at work. Good luck trying to find hockey on TV here anywhere. Not only that, but the only semi-decent popular Australian sport has just finished it's season. The Hawthorne Hawks beat the local Fremantle Dockers in the AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final. Original name, that. What we're left with on the Australian sporting landscape is cricket. Oh god, just kill me now!

Good: The kids are finishing school. Well, Zaren and Cyrus have basically already finished school and only have some of their final exams to complete. Keva has another month left. This means more freedom for them but also more options for all of us to travel together.
Bad: The same applies for all families and as a result EVERYONE does the vast majority of their holidaying during December and January. The airlines and hotels, bless their hearts, have noticed this trend and jack up prices to travel anywhere from or within Australia. Even so, they all get booked fully and booked early. We tried to find some accommodation in the South-Eastern part of WA, near Albany. It is supposed to be a more forested area with a temperate climate in the summer. It also has some new activities that we haven't tried like a tree top walk. We started looking in August to book a place in December: sold out! Apparently, some people are starting to book now for December 2014. For a country that is mostly empty there sure aren't many vacancies when you need them.

Good: Outside of working hours, for the next 5 months I likely won't have to wear anything more than shorts and a t-shirt.
Bad: Those around me will see that, outside of working hours, for the next 5 months I won't be wearing anything more than shorts and a t-shirt. [I was going to include a picture but decided against it as I consider myself a humanitarian]

Good: No more nights freezing in bed. As I may have complained about once or twice before, the homes here have no insulation. So, in the worst winter nights when the temperature plummets to 5C outside, it's not much warmer inside.
Bad: No more sleep. Soon the evening temperature will likely be in the high 20's or even low 30's. The amount of money that we alone spend on electricity running fans and air conditioning on the hot summer nights could be used to power Okotoks for a year!

Good: The warmer weather means that all of the beautiful bird species that live in this part of the world are out in full force. There are parakeets, cockatoos, lorikeets, conures and so many other colourful and intelligent bird species that it is truly outstanding.

Rainbow Lorikeet: a common sight in our backyard.

Bad: The #*$^ing stupid @#*& birds get up at 4am and crow at full volume right outside our open window...EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  I HATE THE BIRDS!


Coming up on the next episode of The Klamers of Oz..."It's Been Two Years- Are We There Yet?"