Hot, Humid: The New Normal

It is the end of another long, hot, humid day. For a week or more the temperature has reached the mid to upper 80's every day, with high humidity thrown in for good measure. If we lived in Miami, as our youngest son does, we would be celebrating these "low" temperatures, but for this region, weather like this is not common until late June.

These are the kind of days when we get up earlier than usual and rather then dawdling around with our tea and coffee on the porch, we get our work clothes on and go directly to work. Because early mornings and late evenings are the only times it is tolerable to be working outdoors. And even then we are dripping sweat in our eyes before 8 AM. Then we come back inside to shower, get breakfast and the delayed porch time, and more often than not go right back out for a bit to feed the critters and do a little finishing up. And when we come in, another shower.

The gardens do look good, even if we planted late. Today we added more mulch to flowerbeds, mulched the cucumber plants, and I dug up the lettuce bed to re-seed it with lettuce and kale. Then some weeding, and that was enough for this day. The big garden is still waiting for Larry to get the electric fence up so we can plant. To plant without the fence would be just feeding the deer.

I went back out mid-day briefly to cut basil, parsley and thyme to dry, and to pick some parsley, green onions and thyme for the turkey noodle soup I was making for lunch. I used up the last of my homemade noodles, so that's on the to-do list, maybe for tomorrow. Larry worked on my van in the afternoon after the physical therapist left, changing the oil, adding wiper fluid and giving it a good vacuuming and washing. At 215,000 miles, we listen for every new rattle and hiss and try to take care of any problems as quickly as we can.

I spent the afternoon napping (again!) and working on paint projects. I got three small jobs finished and made progress on two others so it felt like a productive day, even with an hour nap. Larry grabbed a nap later on, something he often does, but it's rare that I will succumb and take one. I have to say I felt much better for it.

This evening we were back outside, Larry to mow for a bit and me to do more string=trimming. We are managing to maintain the place, which is not an easy job, but it will not look as nice as in past years when Larry was in top form and could do all the weed-eating.

We need rain so badly. Everywhere around us has had more than they want, with a lot of flooding, but we've been almost completely dry, Rain is forecast for tomorrow. This evening as I sat on the porch I watched that clouds moving in from the southeast, an odd sight considering almost all our weather comes from the west or occasionally from the north. I suppose these clouds are a spin-off of Tropical Storm Alberto; his reach is pretty long if so.


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