Escaping the Heat

I took a summer day off and headed to Kiyosato with Anne. I wanted a break from both the heat and my growing list of work, but even in the mountains, thoughts of extreme weather were difficult to leave behind.

Today, I took a summer vacation day and went to Kiyosato with Anne.

With the autumn conference season approaching, there is a mountain of work I need to get through.

But perhaps because of the heat, or perhaps because I had been pushing myself too hard, I started to develop a headache.

So I decided to stop everything for the moment.

Watching the recent disasters caused by torrential rain, I have realized how quickly even a small depression in the ground can become flooded.

“Even at a high elevation, water will still collect wherever the terrain allows it,” we said as I drove, paying more attention than usual to every rise and dip in the road.

Even after coming all the way here, extreme weather does not quite allow my mind to rest.

Last night, I saw footage for the first time of a debris flow that had occurred in Nepal.

It was reportedly related to part of a Himalayan glacier melting and collapsing.

It is not only the ice of the Arctic Ocean that is melting.

It is happening all over the world.

Wasn’t it cooler in the old days?

I found myself wondering that as we walked.

Still, once night came, the air became properly cool.

And somehow, that was a relief.

For one night, at least, the mountain air reminded me what summer used to feel like.

 

・・・

get through
To finish or complete something that requires effort.
仕事などをやり遂げる、片付ける

push oneself too hard
To work or try harder than is healthy or reasonable.
無理をして頑張りすぎる

for the moment
For now, but not necessarily permanently.
ひとまず、当面の間

torrential rain
Extremely heavy rain falling in a short period of time.
豪雨、土砂降り

depression in the ground
A low area in the surface of the land where water can collect.
地面のくぼみ

elevation
The height of a place above sea level.
標高

terrain
The shape and physical features of the land.
地形

debris flow
A fast-moving mixture of water, mud, rocks, and other material flowing down a slope.
土石流

glacier
A large mass of ice that moves slowly over land.
氷河

a relief
Something that makes worry, discomfort, or tension disappear or become less severe.
ほっとすること、安堵

#Kiyosato #SummerEscape #ExtremeWeather #ClimateChange #Heatwave #MountainAir #JapanTravel #FlatCoatedRetriever #SummerVacation #EverydayThoughts