I feel a bit like celebrating because tonight the windows are open and the air conditioning is off, and it’s still nice inside the house. This is the first day since the summer started that we have been able to do that.

Note that this is happening late at night. By no means is it cool enough that we could consider keeping the windows open during the day. That will happen much later, maybe a month later.

One of the exhausting things about the heat in Tucson is that even to old-timers like myself, the longevity of the heat annually strains one’s credibility. The monsoon season in August cools things off with extra rain so that one gets prepared to welcome an even cooler September. Not so fast, Mr. Eager Eskimo. September is, instead, a reasonably vivid memory of summer’s heat.

And even October is still warm enough to make you sweat just standing still outside in the shade. We don’t get pleasant daytime weather until near Halloween. As you know if you are a regular reader of this blog, Happy Long Pants Day occurs around October 22. Of course, once that finally happens, our nice weather lasts a nice long time, like until, uh, the end of February at least, most years.

But if you’re willing to consider the nocturnal perspective, that nice weather might last as much as an extra month on either side. So Happy Open Windows Night to you!