Did I mention it is hot?

It has been a long quiet spell again.  The summer has been hot and fairly humid. I have lost interest in just about everything. We  have all said "The heat really takes it out of you". Well I can tell you from first hand experience, the heat really takes it out of you.

I have been sweating more than my whole previous life put together. Often I have to be careful to avoid sweat dropping onto or into something I have been doing. I have to step back and shake my head to rid my face of water drops that are hanging from my eye brows, eye lashes. nose and more. My sunglasses (a permanent and necessary facial adornment) are often rendered obscured by water pooling on the inside of the lenses. I don't want to sound gross or crude but on more than one occasion, toilet paper has been rendered useless by sweat running down my back.  

The sun is no longer my friend. It has beaten me.  I now cower in it's presence. Many times I have noticed a real physical change as the sun goes behind or returns from behind a cloud. There is an ebb and flow of my energy and interest in what I am doing that is inversely proportional to the amount of sun on my body. An example is I tend to do my dishes in the morning. If I get up before the sun comes into view, or there are clouds on the eastern horizon, I approach the task with some energy and life. When the sun and it's oppressive heat hit my face I lose all interest. Instantly. It is not something I just don't like but can deal with. It often just overwhelms me and I have to retreat.

I have hung shade cloth over part of my back deck.  That was done in an effort to get some use out of the deck; I really don't like to be inside. While it has made a difference I seldom can sit under it if there is no breeze. I have lightly burned my bare feet walking. Now I understand why Inja runs from shade spot to shade spot. 

I have experienced afternoon temperatures in my kitchen as high as 105F. On a typical morning I  step from my bedroom into the living area where the temperature is as high as 88F . . . at 06:30! I know, I know. Enough with the heat stuff. But please one more.  I keep my little window air-conditioner set at 80F. During the latter part of the day (13:00 to 20:00) it runs continuously and typical room temperatures are mid-80s.  I have found the ceiling temperature at 118F.  You can feel the radiation.

And then there is the thunder and lightening. While not a problem for me, Inja (my dog) is not happy. That old joke about "When momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"? That applies here. Inja becomes a shaking, panting, drooling pile of unconsolable dog who KNOWS I am her savior if only she could climb inside me. The problem is several fold. First there are these "popcorn" storms that pop up from nowhere.  They just appear and give you a sprinkle and 20 minutes of thunder and lightening. Then you have the issue of flat land and water. Light and sound travel for many miles. So the storm that is keeping Inja unconsolable might be 60 miles away. And this is why this blog post is being written at 04:00. 

Now the next weather related part of my adventure...hurricanes

cz 04:30 Aug. 26, 2015