Blame the cold and the rain on me

Two Februarys ago, that is to say, in February 2023, I had a 4.6 m long awning (Markise) installed on my balcony. It cost me an arm and a leg, but since Germany had been having heatwaves for 19 years and had been suffering from a drought for the last six years, I didn't think the situation was going to change.

Even at 7.30 a.m. in the spring months, I had to leave the balcony and go indoors because my east-facing balcony is a heat trap. Put a thermometer out on the balcony table at breakfast time and you could watch the mercury rise to 50 degrees C in a matter of minutes. How much higher it would actually go, I don't know. The scale stops at 50 C. I could, however, sunbathe on my balcony at 8 a.m. in March or April. 

I remember once having breakfast on the balcony with my oldest cousin and my legs started cooking. Since my jeans are always black in colour, you can imagine how the material soaks up the early morning heat. When I showed my cousin my skin, it was mottled. The heat did that.

And, of course, my poor plants were exposed to the heat all morning, until the sun disappeared around the building at about 1 p.m. They really suffered.

Thus, in the end, I bit the bullet and actually spent some money. Not an easy thing for me to do. And that was in February of last year.

Since then, we've had rain, rain and more rain. Germany's drought was officially deemed over in about October 2023 and for the first time in years, the lake in the local park is now actually full to the brim. Marvellous. However, I only used the awning about four times last year and this year have done so only once. Once! 

We're heading towards the middle of June and not long after that it will be the longest day of the year and the days will then start to wane, and I'm still going to bed with a hot water bottle. Still wearing anoraks and scarves when I go outside. Still wearing layers to keep warm. Today, I even took my long, thick cardigan out of the wardrobe again. And don't even think of leaving home without an umbrella. You may think it's stopped raining for the day, but the weather is just trying to lure you outside so it can rain on you again.

So if you are wondering, what the hell happened to all the heat we used to have, blame me. I finally go to the expense of having an awning installed to protect myself and my plants from the searing heat, and the weather changes drastically and we have nothing but rain and cold. Go on. My shoulders are broad. I can bear the blame.

Not my actual balcony, but I did go for grey and yellow stripes in a different pattern.