Heat wave

Yep, we're having one here in the Pacific Northwest ... several days of temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with more humidity than normal. Since I'm a former Southern girl, hot days don't scare me the way they do folks here. However, I'm glad this kind of weather doesn't go on for months the way it does on the Gulf Coast. My body and my emotions do a lot better without the oppressive feeling that hot and humid weather bring.

I'm especially happy the heat doesn't last long here, inasmuch as I don't have an air conditioner in my house. Usually, that's not a big problem, because on most warm summer days, the night-time temps drop well into the 60s (or if we're lucky, the 50s.) The two big box fans that I place in the windows to draw in the colder night air serve quite well as cheap air conditioners for all but the very hottest days, such as we're having this week.

Oh, well ... a few less-than-comfortable hours are a small price to pay for living in such a beautiful place, and the veggies growing in my garden are loving the intense attention from the sun.

In honor of the "excessive heat", as the National Weather Service calls it, here's something to help cool off: a picture I took during last winter's blizzard.

That's Malcolm (on the left) with his big sister Tink, discussing the situation. I recall how excited Malcolm got the first time he saw snowflakes falling from the sky. He was running from one end of the house to the other, from one window to the next, sitting right up against the sliding glass door and watching the snow (getting cold in the process), and then jumping into bed with me. I wonder if next winter he'll remember what snow is about, or whether it will be new to him, all over again.

Comments

[Sharon]

Yes, remember the snow and think cool. I read that Seattle is having a similar heat wave, uncommon there too. Hopefully you will soon have cooler nights ~ we use the draw-the-cooler-air-in-at-night trick when we need it, which we haven't yet this summer. Here's looking toward August and the summer we've been looking forward to.

[Kitty]

Yes, the northeast seems to be having a wonderfully mild summer so far. I'll be happy to send some of this heat eastward to you. :)

[Cindy L]

Omigosh, for a minute there, I thought maybe you were having a blizzard there this month! I will take a little more heat here in Michigan, though not the high nineties, which are expected later this weekend.
Love seeing your kitties, too!

[Kitty]

With the odd weather we've all been having lately, I'll never say "never" about anything. After a week of extended hot weather, this week we had highs in the 60s. It got downright chilly at night. I don't think I'd have been shocked to open the blinds in the morning and see snow on the deck.

[Sharon]

We've got the heat now. There are some here who are ready to see it go. I, however, am enjoying it because I know it will not last. Fall is fast approaching.