Heat

We're in the middle of a heat wave here in the Pac NW. I'm not sure (accurately) how hot it got today up here on the hill, but at one point the outdoor thermostat was around 102 or more today. What I really need is to have a thermostat outside in back to register more accurate temps during the hottest part of the day. The current one sits out front where, in the late afternoon, it is still in the shade but is also in the front porch microclimate where a lot of light and heat are trapped up against the house windows. Tomorrow it'll be almost as hot, so I'll be outside watering.

So how hot is 102ish up here on the hill? It's not a humid heat, and we have a fairly constant breeze, so it's not bad, unlike down by where I work. My theory is that the breeze is the real reason why we have all kinds of hummingbirds and wildlife here and down in town there's not much. The concrete and asphalt are brutal, and breezes are blocked by fences and buildings. There aren't enough trees to cast sufficient shade to offset the heat, but ironically there are enough trees to slow down any breezes that might build up. The result is that hummingbirds pop like popcorn down there.

102 up here is hot enough to melt cats, though. Our cats were melted all over the furniture. At one point Wizard followed me outside, but he only got as far as the back porch cement pad, where he promptly melted. Even his head seemed to flatten as he sucked up against the pavement to cool off.

The weather has driven me to shopping. I got a bunch of soaker hoses and quick connects. I still have to hand water, but boy, not nearly as much as the original set up, the original setup being absolutely nothing set up. Well, I have the wildflower sprinkler, but it wasn't on quick connect. Tomorrow morning it will be. Tomorrow morning I will wake up and quick connect the sprinkler and let it water the wildflowers while I breakfast. That sounds like bliss. Then after breakfast I can hand water the veggies, then start one of the rose garden soaker hoses and weed for a bit. Connect again, weed some more. Connect again, go in and write. On it goes. The hand waterer is on quick connect too so the plants that I couldn't manage to weave a soaker hose too can get caught before I abandon the area.

Someday it will all be on drip system, and the soaker hoses will serve the veggie garden, which will all be weeded. Really. This will happen. And I'll have water features and tall hedges and big, big trees. And a greenhouse. And the porch will be enclosed.

But I get ahead of myself.

I wonder if I can soaker hose myself while I'm weeding--just lay it across my shoulders. Hmm.