The "Dog Days" of summer are over

Following a record-breaking four heat waves, the summer of 2025 appears to have suddenly come to an end. Looking out at the weather this morning, the sun is shining, after some much-needed overnight rain, although there has been a noticeable decrease in temperature. While it may be premature to describe the air as chilly, the period of warmer weather does seem to have finally concluded. Accordingly, the title "The Dog Days of Summer are Over," reflects this shift, and with 

Florence & The Machine's bizarre music video as a backdrop, it is appropriate to reflect on this record-breaking summer and highlight some of its more significant moments.

It is increasingly apparent that this record-breaking summer has accelerated the seasonal cycle – a phenomenon I first noticed a few weeks ago, during one of my regular lunchtime walks. I noticed then that many of the blackberries in the hedgerows were already ripe and ready for picking, several weeks earlier than usual. Of more concern though was the observation that many of the trees were showing premature browning of their leaves, which appears to be a stress response, most likely associated with conserving water. 

Although the warm weather may well benefit fruit crops by speeding their ripening, the prolonged lack of rainfall, over recent months, will almost certainly reduce overall yields come harvest time, especially for staples such as wheat, barley, and oats. With insufficient rainfall, the grains will not have had sufficient moisture to swell to the correct size. On my return drive this morning, after dropping off Mrs PBT’s at her workplace, I was struck by a distinct sense of the season drawing to an early close, as I drove along the farm track leading back to the main road.

Autumn has always been one of my favourite times of year, and I expect this year will be no exception, but seeing ripened fruit and already harvested fields, whilst visually appealing, gives rise to apprehension about the possibility of the early onset of winter. As always, the precise nature of the coming winter remains uncertain, but mother nature may well still have a surprise up her sleeve. Last year’s winter saw very little frost, which was not necessarily a bad thing for those who commute early in the morning, where icy road conditions can be disruptive, and often dangerous.

In some ways, experiencing a harsh
winter, with abundant snowfall and freezing temperatures, would be a re-assuring sign of a return to normality, as the mild winters of recent years, have meant we have hardly used our log burner. I purchased it originally as a “back-up” source of heat, should the boiler break down, but it does have other uses, and there is something warm, comforting, and almost mesmerizing about a roaring log fire in winter. Writing these lines, has reminded me of the need to get the chimney swept, before the real onset of winter. I did say that the stove hasn’t been used much, but despite this it is important to ensure there are no obstructions, such as bird nests, blocking the flue. We have a substantial supply of well-seasoned logs, that feel light and able to burn without cracking or spitting. They should provide ample warmth, although I normally leave the lighting and stoking of the stove to Mrs PBT’s.  

Back to the present, and on reflection I haven’t been out and about as much as I would have liked, and apart from a welcome and very enjoyable day out on the Surrey-Hants border, I haven’t been anywhere of note. l am making progress on our ongoing de-cluttering project, getting rid of things we no longer need or require. Like many people we tend to hang on to things we no longer need, either for sentimental reasons, or because we feel they may come in handy, at sometime in the future. Fortunately, I am getting much better at getting shot of stuff we no longer require, unlike Mrs PBT’s who’ s something of a serial hoarder.

I’m shortly going to take a wander down the garden and check out the shed, because there are three bikes in there – one for each family member. I'm probably the last person to use one of them, and that was three or four years ago possibly longer. Eileen and Matthew haven't used theirs in over a decade or more, so the idea is to clean them up a bit and find somewhere to take them off my hands. I’m sure that with a little TLC, these machines can be spruced up and re-homed. “Re-purposed” is the buzz word, here, but I'm not after money for them; I just want others to get the same use and the same pleasure out of these bikes, that family Bailey have done.

 So that's my project for later this morning, along with contacting a chimney sweep, as mentioned earlier. Showers are forecast for later today, so I need to get the bikes sorted sooner, rather than later. Tomorrow, I've promised to take Mrs PBT’s out for a spot of lunch, and the venue we’ve chosen is the Swan on the Green at West Peckham. Eileen has never been there before, so it will be good to introduce her to the pub and also see how things are progressing there, following the community buy-out. Looking at the forecast for Friday, I’m fairly certain that we shall be eating inside, so it’s just as well I booked a table.

We have arranged a cruise scheduled for mid-October through to the first week of November that will travel across the Atlantic, with planned stops at the Azores and Madeira. I previously visited both locations many years ago during an "educational school cruise"on the SS Nevasa, a converted troopship, owned by the British India shipping line. The accommodation on Nevasa was pretty basic – dormitories, fitted out with bunk-beds, a far cry from the unbridled luxury of a state room, on Cunard’s Queen Victoria. Not as much fun though, and when you’re 16 years old, and bedding down for the night, with a bunch of your schoolmates, you’re not overly bothered by a lack of creature comforts.

Eileen is particularly looking forward to our visit to Madeira, following her niece’s positive experiences there, during a recent holiday, and I shall be looking out for the wine lodges, where the island’s potent, fortified wines are matured. I recall, sampling a few glasses of Madeira, as a 16-year-old, schoolboy - an activity perhaps best reserved for adulthood, even though such misadventures are often part of growing up. Apart from getting mildly pissed in Madeira, my memories of the two island groups are somewhat vague. This particularly applies to the Azores, although I do recall a particular island with a large, volcanic crater that contained two adjacent lakes. One lake was a striking blue, while the other appeared an intense green. The colouring was something to do with the mineral contest of the two bodies of water, although I cannot recall which lake was which, or on which island they were located.

Beyond this, I have few specific recollections of that trip from over half a century ago, apart from the fact that like our upcoming cruise, most of the destinations on the 1971 voyage had a Portuguese connection. This then continues with the inclusion of Porto on the return journey, although we will also be calling at the port of Vigo, located on Spain’s southern coast. We stopped off at this compact and picturesque port city, during a cruise to Greece and some of the Greek islands, back in 2023. From memory you can walk straight off the ship in Vigo, and with a few shady bars, down some of the city’s narrow streets, it should prove a pleasant way of whiling away an hour or two.

As you might be aware from previous posts, Mrs PBT’s and I have celebrated a couple of significant occasions, including a milestone 70^th birthday for me, plus our Ruby wedding anniversary a couple of weeks’ ago. The week after next, Mrs PBT’s will be celebrating her own 70^th birthday, so there’s plenty  happening in the Bailey household, during the run up to our next cruise.