When Candles Just Give Up

It's hot here. Oppressively hot. Oh and humid too (including rain and thunderstorms). Additionally, the cicada-infested trees sound like incessant maracas. In summary, it's summer in Japan. As previous California dwellers, we have definitely been spoiled by the dry heat and a relatively bug-free environment. To quantify, it's about 80 degrees Fahrenheit outside by 8:00am, followed shortly thereafter by 90 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:00am. Don't worry though, summer in Japan is also festival season. Fireworks regularly light up the sky for various celebrations, and are usually accompanied by traditional dancing and delicious food. So while the summer heat does indeed cause come grief, this season definitely doesn't leave us high and dry. 

We will conclude this brief post by offering a couple of photos to represent this most recent season.

These candles melted simply from sitting (unlit) on our bedroom window ledge.

If you ignore the background exchange of bug spray and photo tips you can hear the chirping of the cicadas:

 

That bug was about 2 inches long. Thank goodness they don't sting or bite (to the best of our knowledge and experience)!