We're at around 90 in the afternoons at our place this week, with a killer drying wind, but the well is in good shape yet so I left the drip hoses going all night in the six beds in the lower garden, and gave everything else a dewing from the hand-watering hose as the sun went down and the long twilight set in. Beloved changed out all the pools for the ducks and geese, and the chicken water. We are at 44 degees north, and at this time of the year you have enough daylight for this kind of thing to last you till ten p.m.
The house is handling it well, better than ever before. The maple trees are finally tall enough to help some, there's more insulation, the south face of the roof now has a coat of white paint, beans are climbing the south wall, and there are awnings of burlap, and burlap shades, on the windows. I'm often seeing 65F on the inside thermometer when it's 85 outside, with no A.C. and no fans running. Usually we only have to start up the fans when it reaches 94 or more outside for three days running, which gives too much heat gain even for this house.
The grass seed growers, up the road, are baling their straw in gigantic bales that must weigh six hundred pounds each. The sunshine reflecting from the unbaled windrows defeats my sunglasses and I have to look away as I go by. There are mirages on the fields and pavements. It reminds me of my Georgia childhood.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Heat wave...
We're at around 90 in the afternoons at our place this week, with a killer drying wind, but the well is in good shape yet so I left the drip hoses going all night in the six beds in the lower garden, and gave everything else a dewing from the hand-watering hose as the sun went down and the long twilight set in. Beloved changed out all the pools for the ducks and geese, and the chicken water. We are at 44 degees north, and at this time of the year you have enough daylight for this kind of thing to last you till ten p.m.
The house is handling it well, better than ever before. The maple trees are finally tall enough to help some, there's more insulation, the south face of the roof now has a coat of white paint, beans are climbing the south wall, and there are awnings of burlap, and burlap shades, on the windows. I'm often seeing 65F on the inside thermometer when it's 85 outside, with no A.C. and no fans running. Usually we only have to start up the fans when it reaches 94 or more outside for three days running, which gives too much heat gain even for this house.
The grass seed growers, up the road, are baling their straw in gigantic bales that must weigh six hundred pounds each. The sunshine reflecting from the unbaled windrows defeats my sunglasses and I have to look away as I go by. There are mirages on the fields and pavements. It reminds me of my Georgia childhood.
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Even Georgia is having a bit of a warm spring and early summer. Who knows what the rest of the year will be like?
ReplyDeleteHeat waves happen. I remember as a child in the early 50's it was in the hundreds for days on end in June, July and August - even in the mountains. We napped the hot afternoons away, and swam in the early mornings and late afternoons.
At my current age, I can only repeat my grandmother's words when she was my age - "Just sit and wait and it will pass."
In Camak many houses had the screened-in back porches, and families would put army cots out there during heat waves, to sleep fitfully through the night, dripping sweat, as the lightnin' bugs played hide-and-seek with the stars.
ReplyDeleteFans played a great part in our home back when. Nothing like a cassock fan next to your bed with the sheet over the fan and your bed so cool air from the floor blew under your sheet and kept you cooler.
ReplyDeleteI would get up at night and rinse cool water over my hands and wrists and use a "soppy rag" to wet my neck and face and legs. Anything to add to the possibility of evaporation and consequent cooling of the body! On really hot nights, rubbing alcohol on pulse points helped cool a lot.
A cool (not cold) drink of water or sweet iced tea would help some.
Rubbing ice cubes on pulse points helped some, too. Mama used to occasionally rub ice cubes on my back and leave my back damp for more evaporative help.
Didn't want to use ice cubes much on large areas, though, because they constrict blood vessels and decrease the cooling effect to the rest of the body. Just cool water or alcohol works best.