Saturday, June 30, 2012

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...
 
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22 comments:

Ms. A said...

At least you are getting a respite at night. It is unbearably hot.

Martin said...

Hey, some of our sunshine appears to have slipped over your fence! Send a little this way, if you can...please.

Pat in east TN said...

Record breaking temperatures over here, so I'm like you Vicki, out early to do whatever chores have to be done and then hide in the house for the rest of the day. Soot looks like a long, hot summer!

Thérèse said...

Hiding seems to be such a good solution... :-)

Kath said...

Perfect strategies.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Can you believe we're having a heat wave in the mountains? Unbelievable. But it looks like you've discovered the best ways to manage.

I don't believe I've ever heard as many birds in the early morning as we do here. The very best way to wake up in the world is to the sounds of the birds singing.
Sam

Jean Baardsen said...

Oh, my, you don't have air conditioning? How are the dogs coping? Sleeping most of the day?

Brian Miller said...

did you get the storms last night....really crazy...no power or air here today...going to be brutal....

Wayfarin' Stranger said...

And it's still June!

Vicki Lane said...

Jean - Nope,no A/C. I once had a little window unit in my work room but it made the rest of the house seem unbearable. So we use fans and survival strategies. Of course it's not as hot here as elsewhere -- we were in the mid 90s yesterday while Asheville hit 105.

Yeah, the dogs sleep a lot -- Willa does her running around early and comes in whupped.

Brian - no storms here. There are clouds this morning and we'd love a bit of rain.

Barbara Rogers said...

Lovely photos, as always. Sunrise is not my natural time, but these days I am glad to push myself to rise early, then nap if needed. Keep cool today!

Suz said...

what no air?
oh my...you are a survivor
love your land and the rising morning sun....

Tammy said...

Lovely pictures as always! It's the same here. Hot. Dry. Miserable. I was up with the sun too, trying to get all the critters set for the day and watering the garden. I do have an air conditioner but I hate using it unless it's just unbearably hot. It's off now, and I've got the house shut off and fans on. I'm sure I'll turn it on though before the day is half done. I'm planning to hide out in the house today too! Have a good one.
Tammy

Unknown said...

Vicki,
No A/C here either. We are not quite used to being without yet and now the heat wave. WOW! Thanks on the tips about the windows! The temp downstairs last night was 89, the wind had settled so only the fans were moving the air. Upstairs was comfortable ☺

Deanna said...

We were watering plants at 8:30 last night. Well into the 100's for days on end here. Your early morning photos are so nice. I remember days of no air, but don't want to go back to them. Enjoy your day!

Stella Jones said...

I'm not bothered by the heat here at the moment but in Knoxville Larry is watering the garden twice a day, at least! I've heard the temperatures have set a record and over here too we've been breaking records. April, May and June were the wettest three months on record here in England. So wonder all my plants grew so high!
Keep cool if you can. Write lots of stories :)

jennyfreckles said...

So different from the summer we're having but somewhere there must be a happy medium... Have a look at my Saturday photo - it will cool you down!

JJM said...

Oh, you are so right, Vicki -- you've got the strategy down pat. Windows open only at night; fans; get everything done early, don't assume you can continue to work once the temperature rises. I find keeping the curtains shut as extra insulation during the day helps, too. I don't know what it's like up where I live at the moment, since I've actually been down where you live all week (just heading back up today, overnighting in Greensboro), but I've had no A/C for years. It's not nearly as tough as people think, once you get used to it.--Mario

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

We've been heading out earlier every day for our walks. The heat is too much for me!

Darla said...

This was such a delightful journey through your morning, Vicki ... I really enjoyed tagging along! :-)

June said...

Your ficus tree is outdoors? And not sunburned into oblivion? How's that happen? I tried doing that years ago and my poor tree just turned lemon yellow all over.

I hear you about the open/closed windows. Amazing how such old fashioned ideas work, isn't it? ;-)

Vicki Lane said...

June, the ficus only gets a couple of hours of morning sun -- as it does in its spot by the window in the house.