Famous Sayings

In the Netherlands, we have a lot of sayings, but a very famous one here is: "One swallow does not make a summer". And unfortunately, that seems to be more reality than ever this year. I have already spotted the swallow. Only summer, unfortunately, is still something of a myth. On June 1, everyone here starts talking about how meteorological summer has begun. However, unfortunately, the temperature here in the house still looks more like autumn ... and sometimes it even feels like winter. I have had to put my dreams about clear blue skies with the sun high in the sky on hold for the time being. The dreams of sun-drenched Dutch beaches fall to the wayside. In short, I had a rude awakening from the dreams I had before this time of year.

While everyone is talking about climate change, and mainly, global warming... we have been living here for weeks with daytime temperatures that remain below normal. That's not even the worst part, the specialization that the Netherlands has taken on in gray skies, persistent rain showers, and just a very hard refusal to a ray of sunshine. I think that's bad. Those persistent gray skies are just making me depressed from a lack of vitamin D. Or should I say, a lack of vitamin Z?

Pouring Rains Almost Every Day

A rain shower pouring down every day is not something that makes me very happy. But that is the current reality of the Dutch summer. And no matter how strange it may sound, even though it has been raining almost every day since October, everyone is concerned if it has not rained for two days. And they are immediately afraid of drought. Now you're thinking, how on earth is that possible? It rains almost every day, and yet people worry about drought. On the one hand, it is understandable, after all, quite a bit of groundwater is pumped away so that the groundwater level is not too high. After all, farmers must be able to enter the fields with their heavy tractors. And if the groundwater is too high, then that is not possible. Personally, I think, go onto the land with a less heavy tractor and leave the groundwater a little higher... but yes, I don't do water management. And honestly, that's a good thing. A lot would have to change if I did that. Firstly, no industrial waste, fertilizers, or agricultural poisons should end up in the groundwater if I were to do the water management here. I would simply draw a sharp line through that, and also impose penalties with heavy fines for anyone who did not adhere to my rules. But since I don't do water management, and this kind of practice remains a daily occurrence in the Netherlands, it might be time to check Google to see where the sun shines.

Should I Stay, Or Should I Go?

Yes, seriously, moving sounds very tempting right now! Summer in the Netherlands is more concept than reality this year. You could compare a summer here to the Loch Ness Monster. Everyone talks about it, there even seem to be photos of it, but in the end, no one has ever seen it. And yes, this sounds super negative, and I admit it... There are days when I see the temperature gauge rise slightly above 20 degrees Celsius. You could almost start dreaming of shorts and barbecues. But just when you dare to think about it, you are immediately punished with the next gray day, the next rain shower, and the next temperature drop.

Is there anything nice in this country? Hmmmm, I'll have to think about it for a moment... but let's just consider the little barn swallows as fun. When you see them flying, they look like acrobats in the air. And despite the gray skies, the many rain showers, and the not-too-high temperature, some swallows are flying around. Looking at these birds makes me laugh. It makes for a nice ten minutes here and there between showers. But as the well-known proverb here in the Netherlands says, "One swallow does not make a summer". And that summer, that is exactly what I long for.