I've spent this week reveling in the changing colors of fall, and in my expanded capacity for understanding temperature. I was surprised one morning to see the temperature (according to the internet) at -3 C (29 Fahrenheit), and even wondered about the wisdom of jaunting off to the park with Polly. You see, in Madrid, -3 C is about as cold as it gets. I have seen the thermometer plummet to – 7 (about 19 F) but not very frequently. So I wound my scarf around my face, put on my hat and gloves and several layers of clothes, and off we went on a chilly November morning. Polly is so excited at the beginning of the walk that we end up running a fair bit, so fairly soon I was pretty warm. And mostly the weather has been warmer than that…this morning a good 12 C (a pleasant 54 F).
You will have noticed that I have become familiar once again with Fahrenheit! I had forgotten, and in Madrid if someone suggested it was 54 degrees, I would not have known what to wear. Now I am bi-thermometal. Note that what I mean by that is not that I can do some kind of mathematical conversion, but rather that my body knows how it wil
l feel to be out in the given temperature, and thus what it needs to keep it comfortable. As soon as I saw it was 54 this morning, I knew I could go for the walk without gloves or scarf. Note that it is supposed to get up to 70 tomorrow…gosh, I’ll just need a sweater later in the day!
The nice weather is making the walks in the park that much more enjoyable…as are the changing leaves.
You will have noticed that I have become familiar once again with Fahrenheit! I had forgotten, and in Madrid if someone suggested it was 54 degrees, I would not have known what to wear. Now I am bi-thermometal. Note that what I mean by that is not that I can do some kind of mathematical conversion, but rather that my body knows how it wil
l feel to be out in the given temperature, and thus what it needs to keep it comfortable. As soon as I saw it was 54 this morning, I knew I could go for the walk without gloves or scarf. Note that it is supposed to get up to 70 tomorrow…gosh, I’ll just need a sweater later in the day!The nice weather is making the walks in the park that much more enjoyable…as are the changing leaves.
It's probably time that you met Polly...Polly meet the world
and the view of the tree in the backyard from my window...
I went to listen to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra yesterday, and that was quite a treat! I went with Jody (fellow Madrid campus SLU worker, who's moved back to St. Louis) and her husband Eugenio. Powell Hall is an elegant concert hall, and Czech conductor Jiri Belohlavek (currently chief conductor of the BBC Symphony) directed soloist American mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard in singing Mozart and Mahler. She has a not very strong but incredibly clear voice, a delight to listen to. I kept imagining my morning walk, with the brilliant leaves, as I listened.
And speaking of changing colors...do you notice Diana's early x-mas present from her friend, Marina, who's visiting from Madrid?
No comments:
Post a Comment