Nine months of summer, maybe a frost

Published 9:33 am Wednesday, July 23, 2025

By Harold Brummett

Denmark Star Route

It is summer, we are in the great state of Mississippi and therefore the heat and humidity is oppressive. I am grateful for the air conditioning that allows me to draw breath without feeling like having been submerged in a warm pond. 

It is not climate change, it is Mississippi in the summer.

The birds stand in their water to gain relief as they hold their wings away from their bodies with their beaks open panting. They go from shade to shade scratching and pecking away from the sun. The horses seek shade as well either under the trees or in the barn where fans have been set up for them. These efforts lessen the discomfort but do not eliminate the heat and humidity that surrounds and penetrates anyone or anything outside of an air-conditioned oasis.  

Watering in the garden is done late afternoon when shade has moved over the plants. Water is given late so the plants have time to absorb before the sun returns and heats the earth pulling the moisture back into the air. 

The bees beard on the outside of their homes fanning to circulate air outside to inside the hive. They will hold water droplets and deposit water around the hive to create a swamp cooler effect. Wax melts when it gets too hot. 

When I had cows, they would go to the shade of the trees that surrounded the pond, wade in and stand in the water up to their bellies. Most of the grazing done at night with cud chewing saved for the days in the shade.

Many Mississippians travel to the Neshoba County Fair as a summertime ritual. The Neshoba County Fair is the hottest place on the planet in summer. If I were a politician or elite with a cabin there then maybe I would attend. I do believe that when the devil shows up at the fair (possibly to check on politicians) he retreats back to hell to cool off.  

Without air-conditioning, the local housing shortage would be over. The University and City would only be able to hire local folks who grew up accustomed to the local climate and the rest would retreat to cooler places. Even the local university football player’s shelter with a climate controlled practice field. Students dash from air-conditioned cars to air-conditioned buildings and only come out at night for cool refreshments in a town now nicknamed ‘the little easy.’

Houses built for a Southern climate are becoming fewer and fewer. Most new houses simply rehash the tired ugly architecture of New England with steep roofs (to shed our rare dusting of snow) and stubbed fronts that are not welcoming. 

Southern housing used to be wide porches, high ceilings, large open windows and roofs designed to shed rain. Dogtrot houses were set in such a way to catch a breeze. There were porches with ladder back chairs to sit in and fan yourself as you watched the summer go by. 

Someone from Minnesota when asked about their climate replied, nine months of winter followed by three months of poor sledding.  I suppose in Mississippi we could say we have nine months of summer followed by three months with a possibility of heavy frost.