August is the most insufferable month of the year. It is particularly so in Appalachia.
Blackwater River Blackwater Falls State Park West Virginia
commons wikimedia.org
An Appalachian August
An Appalachian August approaches again. It's near—right here on us—please save me the pain.
Grass blades are wider, they're thicker, and wet.
My mower won't cut them; I'm getting upset.
I open the door, and its steamy and hot.
It goes without saying, my nerves are all shot.
No cool breeze is stirring to soothe my wet brow.
Yet I must accept that which plagues me somehow.
The trees seem to like these humidity highs.
They grow in their quest just to touch the blue skies.
The weeds, well they like the humidity, too,
But aren't even fit to be cooked in a stew.
These hottest, most sultry days of the year,
The Dog Days of summer that cause me to sneer,
Will soon be over, I'm happy to say,
But why were they meant to cause such dismay?
I love the Summer months here in the UK...but this does sound like a different kind of heat...homes here do not have air conditioning as a rule, but this kind of humidity would certainly seem to demand it...
You capture well your intense dislike of this month ...,
but the word 'sultry' conures up an almost exotic feel to the days...
I really enjoyed reading these descriptions....I felt I was right there in the 'steamy and hot'...
Diana...
SO THAT ONE CAN REALLY APPRECIATE IT...WHEN THE BREEZE OF AUTUMN ROLLS IN. I TELL YOU - THE CREATOR TOOK CARE OF FEEDING 'EVERY' ANTICIPATED EMOTION...AND THEN SOME! CAN'T WAIT FOR, 'AN APPALACHIAN AUTUMN'. HAVE A BLESSED ONE MY FRIEND. LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH...JOYCE * HIS INSPIRATIONS
The Appalachians are so beautiful all seasons, but they do get hot in August. At least you usually don't have the high humidity of the coastal regions. I agree with your fine poem, can't wait for Autumn!
Remembering the t-storms and rains when we could go out and wade in the puddles afterwards, Such fun times are dog days too, I love hot weather, hate the cold....
Even without air-conditioning, I loved those rainy, steamy hot summers in northern West Virginia. It took me three quarters of each weekend to mow my half-acre and my 93-year-old neighbor's quarter acre lawns with my 19 inch Lawn Boy on those steep slopes that grew like there was winter coming soon.
But I was young and crazy then. Later, I would've opted for a riding mower of much wider swath, except on those precarious slopes where you couldn't even stand in the wet grass without sliding downhill. Had to lower the lawn boy with an electrical cord (didn't burn like rope).
Your poem makes me want to take a skinny dip in an mine runoff acid water swimming hole to soothe the chigger bites and my lawn mowing sunburn.
A book of nature inspired poems and essays, written from the heart and soul of a life-long nature, animal, and wilderness lover, and dedicated to today’s children - Earth's only hope for a better tomorrow.
This book won 'The Poetry Category'
Share
Print
Save
Follow
You capture well your intense dislike of this month ...,
but the word 'sultry' conures up an almost exotic feel to the days...
I really enjoyed reading these descriptions....I felt I was right there in the 'steamy and hot'...
Diana...
But I was young and crazy then. Later, I would've opted for a riding mower of much wider swath, except on those precarious slopes where you couldn't even stand in the wet grass without sliding downhill. Had to lower the lawn boy with an electrical cord (didn't burn like rope).
Your poem makes me want to take a skinny dip in an mine runoff acid water swimming hole to soothe the chigger bites and my lawn mowing sunburn.
Ron
where the winter winds dwell.
But in the dog days of summer,
you can strip down naked,
and still be hot as hell.
This was a real scorcher.
Michael D.