Survival Strategies

When dawn looks like this, you can be pretty sure it's going to be hot and dry.
  And the only way to deal with outside chores is to get going early.

I was watering the garden as the sun rose. 

I love taking pictures at sunup -- oh my, another day lily. . .

As the sun  poured into our cove, I kept watering and taking pictures . . .

See how this wild daisy lights up. . .

The sunlight creeps across the basil and rosemary . . .

Watering done, I snap a few more pictures and head for the house. 
It's starting to heat up out here.

I stop to pick some mint for the next step in my survival strategies. 

This clump planted in the damp spot under the hose is nice and handy.

Brew the tea. 

Some teabags, the mint and a very little sugar -- 

not enough to taste but enough to mellow the flavor.

 I'll add a kettle of boiling water, cover the pitcher, and let it sit about five minutes. 

 Then I'll remove the teabags and let the tea cool. We'll drink iced tea all day long.  

Important -- close most of the windows. They were open all night, letting in cool air. But the air is hot now so, counter-intuitive though it may seem, we shut most of the windows during the day. Not the upstairs windows --  they let the heat out, with the help of a fan.

Make more juice to fill the humming bird feeders -- they can empty a feeder in a day or less. 

Lots of good folks put out pans of water for birds and other critters during hot dry weather but our branches (creeks) are still running and our little fish pond is full.

Water all those plants in pots -- they dry out alarmingly fast.

Hang out the wash to dry -- this weather's good for that, at least. 

And good for a quiet day of working at the laptop, moving as little as possible...