Endless Summer

On my walk the other day I had two indications that summer is finally over in Sevilla. The first: The canvas awnings strung across plazas and pedestrian malls are coming down. They're there to provide shade from the overwhelming summer sun. Now that it's topping out at a brisk 92F/33C, there's apparently no longer a need. Today didn't even make it up to 89F/32C. By next week, I'll need to unpack my scarves.

THE LAST CANVAS AWNING ON CALLE TETUAN,
WHICH SOON BECOMES CALLE DE VALEZQUEZ BEFORE FINISHING AS CALLE O'DONNELL
ALL THAT HAPPENS OVER LESS THAN HALF A KILOMETER. AND I WONDER WHY I GET LOST!

The other sign of autumn — the leaves will stay on the trees for at least another month — my "giant asparagus" is gone. The enormous flower stem has been cut down and the dead plant removed. Who knows when the other American agave nearby will be old enough to bloom (and die). The babies produced by the one that's gone will have to grow for another 30 years or more before they produce a flower (and then die).

NO MORE GIANT ASPARAGUS.

I just thought of an even more obvious indication that summer is over. One mid-afternoon, during the warmest part of the clear and sunny day, San Geraldo actually left the house and went for a long walk with me. He crossed the river and everything! It has got to be autumn.

WHILE SITTING IN THE SHADE WITH SAN GERALDO ON THE ISLAND OF LA CARTUJA.