Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Dust and sweat

That's what we've got here. It is HOT and DRY!  We officially hit 99F this afternoon although our thermometer hit 100.  And it is still dry, dry, dry.  I finally broke down and pulled out the sprinkler last night to water the potatoes and beans.  And this evening I deployed the gallon jug watering system on the vining plants.  Rain barrels don't do any good if you've got no rain.
And the hot weather is forecast to continue.  Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter than today.  I clipped an old sheet to the side of the chicken run to provide them some more shade than they've got and we put an extra waterer in there for them as well.
I still haven't managed to get the new blackberry bushes into the ground.  And I don't think I'll be up for digging holes when the heat index is over 110.  So, they have been moved into the shade under the deck to keep them from drying out too quickly until it cools down enough that I can plant them.  I've still got three days of work this week at the hospital (I'm working Saturday) but then I've got 4 days off.      Sunday is Sunday, Monday is my day off, Tuesday will be my comp day for Saturday and Wednesday is the holiday.  I'm hoping that the weather cools off at least a little so I can get out into the garden to weed, at least a couple of mornings since the weeds are getting big again.
This weekend is the Jazz Festival downtown.  V and I were talking about going down for a while on Saturday evening after I get off of work but we'll see what the weather is doing.  I'm not too thrilled to go sit on a blanket in the middle of a closed off street if it is too hot, even to listen to free concerts.  I've been there before when it's blisteringly hot and the streets just cook you.  So, hopefully it will cool down a little.  We'll see.

I hope you are all staying cool out there.

14 comments:

  1. Wishing you cool, soothing rain. Lots of gentling falling good-for-the-earth rain.

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    1. Oh, that sounds lovely! We did have a brief shower this morning- about 90 seconds worth. Only enough to make it even more miserable out there.

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  2. The weather here for the last few days has been really nice. Today, however, is to reach 99-100. Here it is noon and it's not too bad so far. It's dry so maybe it's hotter than I realize. Your poor chickens, with all those feathers. Will they molt? Hope your garden will be ok. Should with all the watering care your giving it. We had our town festival last week. Didn't make it a single day....23 miles, crowds, hot concrete...yuck...not my cup of tea either...debbie

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    1. We had in the upper 90's again today but with humidity about 70%. BLAH! Of course, it's cooled down some now- at 9:15 it's only 88! We've got a heat advisory in place for another day or so.

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  3. Not too bad lately, was 70 3 days ago! Supposed to be low 90's next several days, but it's dry. We have to really stay on top of the watering too with our garden, and we drag out the sprinklers. Give the chickens ice chips, they love it! And lots of fresh water every day....

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    1. Low 90's I don't mind so much, it's just when it gets into the upper 90's. Amazing what those few degrees will do. And we had a front move through that brought humidity, just no rain. Blah.
      We're taking good care of the chickens. We've even been setting out containers of water for the wildlife as well since there is no standing water anywhere nearby. Even our creeks are dry- and they are spring fed!

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  4. Woof - that sounds awful. But it sounds like you've thought of everything. I had to put a tarp up to provide more shade for the chicks, too. Luckily, they haven't destroyed all living things around them, so they have some nice bushes to flop down under. Hope your heatwave is short-lived and you are able to enjoy your days off.

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    1. Our chickens still have one large mulberry tree/bush that we left in the run. They pick the leaves off the lower branches but it still provides some shade out there. It's just that in the late afternoon the sun beats down from the west and just cooks that run. I planted sunflowers to make a natural shade barrier but I had terrible germination problems- or maybe it's just that the #@!% chipmunks ate the seeds before they sprouted. I'll try again next year and maybe start the seedlings inside in peat pots to keep them safe from the chipmunks.

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  5. here too, over 100º but muggy, it's hard to do anything and have it be fun! I hope it cools off for your Jazz Festival, that sounds like fun but the darn heat will suck the fun out of any activity!

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    1. Oops, they closed off all the streets today to set up tents and the big stages. Now we're having thunderstorms with 60 mph winds. I'm glad we didn't try to go tonight.

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  6. Hope you're staying as cool as possible and hydrating lots! This heat wave is super intense...we could go for some rain, too...lots of it!

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    1. Yes, we are all working to stay hydrated. I hope you get some rain as well!

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  7. Our weather has been a bit nutty. 60s one day, 90s the next. Today I think we're in the 80s, but I'm sensing 90s again. I'm breaking down and putting on the A/C. But, I'll take our temps over yours! Stay cool and like Bee Girl said: keep hydrated!

    Enjoy your weekend and the Jazz Fest if you go. (Ironically, our city's Jazz Fest is going on right now too!) :)

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    1. I do love the Jazz Fest but not if I'm going to melt. We'll see what the weather holds in store.

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