An “excessive heat warning” is in effect until Thursday, July 1. The worst day is supposed to be Tuesday, when the forecast is for 116 in the Valley. It won’t be that hot here at Gilbert – just 103 or so. After that it gradually cools to temps that are still unusually high.
And – it’s not like we’re sitting around waiting for it to get hot. It’s already hot! Mike’s weather station showed 70 at 6:00 this morning, so he hopped out of bed and closed windows. Our only means of keeping the house cool is to close the house before it gets hot outside.
Since we don’t water the grass here, it usually stops growing about the first of August. This year it’s already turning brown and crackles under foot.
Ken
came yesterday and helped Mike load big chunks of the downed tree onto the old
pick-up. “That’s a TERRIBLE IDEA!” exclaimed one son when I explained that two “old
guys” were planning to load the wood, but it went fine. They worked in the
morning and were finished in about an hour. I couldn’t help them, so I made
classic no-bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies – sorta like stirring
oatmeal into frosting. We like them.
Ken said that he saw a lot of Whitetail on the way in – and a lot of young ones. He laughed when he told how he could just see their heads sticking up above the grain. And then as we watched TV last night, a young doe and her twin fawn appeared just beyond the raised beds. Were they ever cute! I have never seen such tiny fawn on the hoof. We watched each other for a minute or so, and then Mama decided it was in their best interest to find another route to the pond, so she turned into the wheat field with her little ones following. I can’t help but wish them luck, even though they eat my apples, my hollyhocks, and anything else that isn’t fenced.
A
nice group of hummingbirds visit our feeders. Hallie observed that our
hummingbirds are not as vibrantly colored as they see in Seattle. We believe ours
are “Black Chinned,” and they’re coloring is not spectacular.
Rattlesnakes? Nick saw one on the south side of the grove on Memorial Day. That’s the only one we’ve seen so far this year. Of course, I haven’t been looking for them. KW
The highest we noticed today (full disclosure, we took Sunday afternoon naps!) was 100. Supposed to be getting warmer each day for the next few, so we'll see. So thankful to have air conditioning! I well remember those summers in Orofino!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, Orofino was hot, but our old house was built on a spring -- not good for the foundation but kept the house cool in the summer. The folks would just turn on the furnace fan.
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved to the modular home, we couldn't manage without air conditioning. I had some tapers (candles), and they melted in the heat -- bent right over.