Summer Hibernation

Sunday, February 7, 2016
I am sure that most people know of hibernation - when animals go to sleep during Winter only to come awake again during Spring - famished, but ready for the new season.
I feel a strong draw to this sort of behaviour - I am drawn to bears and their energy, and am often intrigued by them. And, of course, I am always fascinated by badgers, and while they don't tend to hibernate, they will sometimes. But it is only recently that I realised I don't really hibernate in Winter - I hibernate in Summer.

Summer in Perth is a scary thing at times. At the moment we are at the start of a heat wave - at least seven consecutive days of temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (so above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, even up to about 108 it seems) - and I am feeling equal parts nervous and ...filled with dread. You see, as much as I adore Perth, the high levels of heat make me quite ill. Migraines are common when it is hot, and that can often trigger other symptoms in me.

And so, I tend to avoid going out much in the Summer. I isolate myself, keep things I love close by (tea becomes iced, generally, and soft things are only cuddled if I am near air conditioning), and generally try to organise things so I don't have to go into the searing sun. I sleep more, generally because of the migraines, or because I am so tired from a poor night's sleep the night before.

This is my Summer version of hibernation.

When others I know are out enjoying the warmer weather (though probably not as much during this heatwave!), I am more likely to be inside reading and just trying to survive.

1 comment:

  1. Makes sense baby. I believe in Middle Eastern cultures it's common to shut down for a few hours during the middle part of the day, and to do most of the work in the morning and evening when it's cool.
    At least, that's what I read in a fantasy book based on the Middle East... Totally sensible though.

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