Set point

It was 9 Celsius this morning and I saw that some parkas are still out. Personal set points are so varied that you will also see people in T shirts on the very same mornings. I tend to side more with the latter as I suffer heat much more readily than cold.

Older people seem the most prone to overdress on spring mornings but as it climbs towards 15C you are then stuck with a winter jacket to trudge around in. I left the house in a jean skirt, my jacket is a cardigan and on my feet dependable walking flats. I won't feel too uncomfortable later when the temperature increases. For me the winter jacket and the gloves won't be seen again until next winter.

Thus Canadians have become a less hardy bunch over the years which immigration from tropical countries has affected. People who have not grown up experiencing -20C are unlikely to feel cozy in only a sweater even above zero. They are the ones still wearing the tuques and the gloves on a spring morning.

When I was in Iceland some years back the locals were out in short sleeves and shorts much sooner than we would be under the same conditions. They don't get the hot summers and are spared the very cold winters. They seize the day when they can.