EXCESSIVE HEAT DIARY – DAY 1 (JULY 6)

Ripening winter wheat, July 6

 Morning low – 62 degrees

3:00 p.m. – 87 here; 92 in Orofino

Attic fan came on at 10:45

Breezy – 12 mph

Temp was 70 when we went to bed last night, and it didn’t cool off until early morning. Mike has now set up a fan in the east dormer windows so that we can pull in some cool air.

Our morning walk (about 7:00) was out to the canyon rim behind the house. It’s not far – just a short hike along the edge of the field. We checked the service berries, but they’re still fairly green. And for that matter, the trees (and the berries) are so dry that I’m not sure picking is worth it.

We watered early. Mike took care of the fruit trees. I watered the raised beds. We closed the house by 7:30 – 68 in / 70 out.

We took a morning ride down the ridge on the 4-wheeler. Besides winter and spring wheat, we identified lentils and garbanzo beans.

TODAY’S STORY OF NOTE

We found one cow pie in the lane the other day, and we thought that was strange. Just one cow? Were there other cows, and if so, where were they? Well, we didn’t see them for three days, but as we returned from our 4-wheeler ride, we spotted a whole herd of cows (15-20 head) moving across June’s field. An hour later, Bess sounded an alarm from the front porch, and I opened the front door to see sweet cow faces looking at me from behind the lilac bushes. I was a little sorry that Bess chased them off. Then Mike went over to the neighbors to report that the cows were out.

Apparently, this is not as urgent for the cattle owner as we feel it should be because this afternoon, I happened to look out the upstairs window to see the cows in our lane. They are so quiet! It’s like they know that they are trespassing and that maintaining this life of free roaming depends on absolute silence.

Well, Mike wondered if he could herd them on down the road on the 4-wheeler, but no! They stepped off the road and into June’s field – familiar territory for them by now, and as I look out the window, they are circling back into the lane. KW