It’s too hot to think. The air is thick and heavy. I find myself staring into space too often, wishing most of all that I wasn’t sitting in front of a pile of books and notes and a whirring computer. Then at other times I lose track of time and emerge from the books three hours later, wondering where all that time went. Those are the most productive days, but the heat reduces my concentration span. I stare out of the open windows at the sky and the shadows on brick. Everything is still; I miss the tac-tacking of the blinds in the breeze. I wish I could work outside, but it’s too impractical.

Studies show that people who live in darker climates – far north in Alaska, for example, where the hours of sunlight are limited – have a greater chance of suffering from depression. I can understand. Despite this mountain of work I have to tunnel my way through, the blue sky gets me motivated. Despite the big question mark at the end of September, I’m relatively light-hearted.

I love the smell of the air in the summertime.