HALLIE EPHRON: Here in the Boston area, none of us can remember a dryer (or hotter) summer. Average rainfall for August is in the 4-6” range. So far this month we have not even seen a half inch of rain. We got a little over a half inch of rain in July. And had many 90+-degree days.
My backyard used to have a green lawn. Now all that's still green is an occasional sprig of crab grass that the bunnies have missed. I water my favorite bushes but their leaves are drooping, clearly stressed.
A writer in the Boston Globe wrote a column apologizing to her hydrangea.
Mine is past hearing.
A small miracle, petunias from last year’s potted plant seeded themselves between the patio stones. And my oregano is running amok. Reminding me what the rest of the yard is supposed to look like.
Is it an exceptionally hot, dry year in your area (or are you in a flood zone), and how are you coping??
RHYS BOWEN: Surprisingly we’ve had a very pleasant summer here in Northern California. Most days in the seventies or low eighties. Only a couple of unpleasant days over 90 but we are on a hill where the wind comes in from the Pacific and thus we usually cool down at night.
We don’t expect rain during the summer in California but we did get a few drops from a passing monsoon a week ago. My one despair is that we are in drought conditions and very restricted in watering.
Last year I had to remove six huge Italian cypress trees, a large acacia and a whole row of junipers as they are combustible and thus a fire danger for people living against open space like us. So I have a steep, bare hillside and no way of replanting it. I have put in a couple of oleanders and pride of Madera and water them by hand. But God knows how they will survive when I’m in Europe next month.
JENN McKINLAY: Usually, I am the flower wilted on the vine, but we’ve had an unusually rainy summer (this year and last) and while I loathe the sticky humid air, it’s a nice respite from day after day of 115+ degree heat with no rain in sight. We’ve stayed in the high 90’s/low 100’s, which seems ghastly but it’s nothing compared to 122 degree days - I don’t care if it’s a dry heat so is my oven.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the pool since we now have Ellie the behemoth Lab/Pit mix who is a ball hound and a swimmer. So, overall, a very nice summer indeed.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: It was SO HOT. SO HOT!!! Oh, it was oppressive, in the high 90’s F for days,and days, right? And our old house only has AC in my office and the bedroom. Ah. And I really considered us lucky, thinking about how dangerous it was for people, and for how long.
My poor tomato plants were in a perpetual state of swoon, I’d run out every morning, yelling “tomato emergency!” and water them with a watering can. And their poor weary leaves would need more water by noon. (The tomatoes are beautiful, though, I have to say. They loved the sun, as long as they had water , too.)
Our usually lush climbing black eyed Susan has given up flowering, though, and we may have lost a little cherry tree.
However, I can't really complain as we are are just back from an exhilarating but exhausting tour of the Orkneys and Shetland. It was cold and cloudy or rainy most of the time so I wore about everything in my suitcase:
DEBORAH CROMBIE: This summer we have had 48 100 F + days. (Normal for us is 10 to 20.) Three of those we hit 109, many were over 104. And we went 68 days without a drop of rain!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been the most miserable summer in my memory. Even though we have irrigation, and with shocking water bills, we couldn't keep things alive. We've lost our Japanese maples and all of our hydrangeas, almost everything in pots on deck and porch and patio. My tomatoes are toast, even with watering twice a day.
A small miracle, petunias from last year’s potted plant seeded themselves between the patio stones. And my oregano is running amok. Reminding me what the rest of the yard is supposed to look like.
Is it an exceptionally hot, dry year in your area (or are you in a flood zone), and how are you coping??
RHYS BOWEN: Surprisingly we’ve had a very pleasant summer here in Northern California. Most days in the seventies or low eighties. Only a couple of unpleasant days over 90 but we are on a hill where the wind comes in from the Pacific and thus we usually cool down at night.
We don’t expect rain during the summer in California but we did get a few drops from a passing monsoon a week ago. My one despair is that we are in drought conditions and very restricted in watering.
Last year I had to remove six huge Italian cypress trees, a large acacia and a whole row of junipers as they are combustible and thus a fire danger for people living against open space like us. So I have a steep, bare hillside and no way of replanting it. I have put in a couple of oleanders and pride of Madera and water them by hand. But God knows how they will survive when I’m in Europe next month.
JENN McKINLAY: Usually, I am the flower wilted on the vine, but we’ve had an unusually rainy summer (this year and last) and while I loathe the sticky humid air, it’s a nice respite from day after day of 115+ degree heat with no rain in sight. We’ve stayed in the high 90’s/low 100’s, which seems ghastly but it’s nothing compared to 122 degree days - I don’t care if it’s a dry heat so is my oven.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the pool since we now have Ellie the behemoth Lab/Pit mix who is a ball hound and a swimmer. So, overall, a very nice summer indeed.
My poor tomato plants were in a perpetual state of swoon, I’d run out every morning, yelling “tomato emergency!” and water them with a watering can. And their poor weary leaves would need more water by noon. (The tomatoes are beautiful, though, I have to say. They loved the sun, as long as they had water , too.)
Our usually lush climbing black eyed Susan has given up flowering, though, and we may have lost a little cherry tree.
LUCY BURDETTE: Oh yes, it's hot as Hades and CT is under a drought warning so we too have a brown lawn. The only thing that's flourishing is the garden, because we water it. This year we made the rookie mistake of planting too many butternut squash plants. I bet we have 20 of these lying out there:
(I added the peach so you'd have a size reference.)
However, I can't really complain as we are are just back from an exhilarating but exhausting tour of the Orkneys and Shetland. It was cold and cloudy or rainy most of the time so I wore about everything in my suitcase:
DEBORAH CROMBIE: This summer we have had 48 100 F + days. (Normal for us is 10 to 20.) Three of those we hit 109, many were over 104. And we went 68 days without a drop of rain!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been the most miserable summer in my memory. Even though we have irrigation, and with shocking water bills, we couldn't keep things alive. We've lost our Japanese maples and all of our hydrangeas, almost everything in pots on deck and porch and patio. My tomatoes are toast, even with watering twice a day.
The only time we've gone outside is to water. No grilling (Gah! 100 degrees at 8 p.m.! No way!) No sitting outside with friends or just to enjoy the morning.
But finally we have some relief! A good shower last week and rain is predicted all this week, with temps in the upper 80s/low nineties. Absolute bliss!
HALLIE: Oh, Debs, you win the prize for miserable.
HALLIE: Oh, Debs, you win the prize for miserable.
The bright spot in our yard has been a plethora of birds at the bird bath. I especially like the song sparrows, little brazen guys who fight for their spots at the water's edge. The one in the picture below is a yellow warbler who was passing through a few springs ago..
How's life in your outdoors? Hot hot hot? Wet wet wet? Or breezy and blessedly comfortable?
How's life in your outdoors? Hot hot hot? Wet wet wet? Or breezy and blessedly comfortable?
Goodness, there’s been some terrible weather this summer: lots of heat, too many fires, drought . . . .
ReplyDeleteWe’ve had our share of 90+ days when walking out the door felt like stepping into an oven . . . finally, it’s cooler, but there still not much rain in sight. It’s finally raining here [about 3:15] . . . we’ll hope it sticks around [and keeps falling] . . . .
Waiting for rain here too - fingers crossed
DeleteI'm in MA with Hallie and Hank, so yeah - HOT. I've deep watered the vegetable garden weekly, so it's still yielding. My front garden is a dry mess, and the basil is barely hanging on in the herb garden. The lawn is crunchy brown. The soil is dust.
ReplyDeleteBut, fingers crossed, it looks like today's forecast rain will materialize after all, and stretch into tomorrow. Hallelujah! The nights are back in the low sixties and the days are getting shorter, which usually makes me weep, but right now it keeps the temps down a little.
We’re right there with you praying for rain! Good steady hours of it please.
DeleteNope, not much of a hot summer in Ottawa until a string of hot days in August with humidex reaching 42C/108F After a 4-day record heatwave in early May, we had a mostly cool June & July. And we got heavy downpours several times this summer. Because of this lack of sun and heat, my balcony garden harvest is much less compared to last year's glorious summer bounty. I am finally harvesting lots of cherry tomatoes and got my first Asian white eggplants in July but my purple eggplants (zero) & beets (two puny ones) are a dud this year.
ReplyDeleteWe are back to highs in the low 20s (60s/70s) all this week.
Watch out grace or we’ll all be moving to Ottawa! White eggplant? I’ve seen them but never tasted one
DeleteMy first time growing white eggplants: thin skins and not bitter. The purple eggplant flowers kept dropping and/or several baby eggplant have been stolen by my nemesis, Satan the black squirrel..
DeleteI first saw white eggplants, and the long, thin pale streaky violet ones, at the farmers market. They're lovely.
DeleteSo, Grace. What has happened to all the water in the evaporation cycle?
DeleteLike Hallie, Hank and Edith, I'm in Massachusetts so it has been pretty hot most of the summer. And with little, if any, rain lately, we are under a "no unnecessary outdoor water use" restriction. The lawn is more brown than green. The only benefit to that is that I haven't had to mow the lawn for a while. There's very little to cut down.
ReplyDeleteAs for how I'm coping, well since I'm a fatass you can imagine it hasn't been fun for much of the summer. And I work in a building that gets very hot. Add those two together and I'm generally sweating buckets all day at work. So when I get home I get cleaned up and pretty much just do nothing but sit in front of the fans and stay as cool as I can while watching a bunch of TV.
Fans are amazing...
DeleteI’m gearing up for our return to Austin’s 100 degree weather. After 3 months of lovely fresh, cool days on Cape Cod… I know it’s going to be a shock. And I’m a native Texan… you’d think I’d be used to hot-as-hell weather, eouldn’t you??!!
ReplyDeleteTexas sounds like one of the circles of Hell this summer. Cape Cod. Long Island. Maine. Easy to understand why people like them as getaways in the hot months.
DeleteNot hot here like the rest of the country except for a week of 90+ when our AC died. We’d ordered a new one already, and we got a loaner from the company, cute portable, to tide us over. We have central air, unusual in this part of the world.
ReplyDeleteBut drought! The lawn is thirsty, and nothings been watered. I’ve had too much to do between Julie’s TKR and my usual summer pneumonia episode. All well now
And this morning it’s raining! Yay us. More predicted for tomorrow. Hang on Boston. Sending it your way
We're hanging on, Ann- and hanging on. They keep predicting 60% chance of rain and instead we get the 40% not-rain. Supposedly today by noon...
DeleteSorry for your lawn, Hallie. It looks like mine last year.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, in Quebec, we had a good summer so far, not too many very hot days in a row, enough rain to keep the lawn green. The worst in the province has been storms with high winds and more tornadoes than usually but not at home.
Danielle
WIND! It's what the climate scientists have been predicting. Extreme weather. Only it's here a lot sooner than they expected.
DeleteIt was hot a few weeks ago and then it cooled down. Today we are expecting rain.
ReplyDeleteIt has been hot and dry in Connecticut as Lucy mentioned. Our lack of rain has been shocking. We see the storms coming in our direction then they veer north or south but don't hit us. The whole state is in drought mode and people with wells are in trouble as are many of our farmers. It is supposed to rain today but so far it's just cloudy with no chance of meatballs.
ReplyDeleteSame here in southern Connecticut. There’s been an occasional storm and then everything dries up. I can’t even remember the last storm, though, because there have been so few. My sister and brother-in-law in northern Connecticut have a well at their home and they’re quite concerned.
DeleteSinging the same song... Hoping it'll be different today/tomorrow.
DeleteSo far we have had an unusual hurricane season. A weather phenomena in Africa caused sand to drift over the Atlantic, stopping baby hurricanes quickly. Sands are back in Africa now, and we have 101 days to go before the season ends (Nov 30). In the meantime we are in the rainy season so all is green. I have stuck with tropical plants, so most everything is alive including abundant lawn fungus. We still are taking long afternoon siestas, with our waking hours between 4 AM and 1PM and then again between 7 and 11PM.. Major, the outdoor cat, has said enough to the heat and joins us earlier than usual. Good luck learning to grow tropical and desert plants people.. things are changing .
ReplyDeleteSeems like what one CAN do to adapt is a drop(!) in the bucket compared to what's needed.
DeleteMaine hasn’t been too bad, we had a very hot, 90’s week, then more heat last week but we bless our heat pump which delivers cool dry air as required. The lawn, is not so much grass as a mix of weed, moss and unidentified vegetation as we don’t water. But compared to further south we are doing quite well. - Celia
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to heading to Maine later this month. And trying to convince myself to pack a sweatshirt and a rain hat.
DeleteWe started the summer with warm, dry, sunny weather. Cool in the morning, not too hot by afternoon. Just enough rain to keep things green. Then we went through a string of 90+ days in July (normal). Since then, we've bounced around, but the humidity is such that even when it's only in the mid-70s, it's oppressive and muggy outside.
ReplyDeleteWe've had some spectacular thunderstorms over the last couple of days and I think the forecast is calling for at least one more day of them. I wish I could ship the water to those who need it. I have standing puddles in my backyard and the holes Koda dug are completely filled with water.
That's WET. Wow.
DeleteWe live in Cape Breton on the Atlantic coast where there is usually a breeze off the ocean so we don’t often go up to 25C (77F), let alone 30 (86), but we had a few hot ones this summer. The garden is growing well, except for the carrots which are under a work to rule this summer and missing in action. The beets are beautiful and prolific, but you can’t really eat them every other day! Tomatoes are still green – my favourite way to eat them. Yesterday was hot – pleasantly so, so we spent the afternoon on Geriatric Row watching two monarchs procreate, while a young whipper-snapper tried to steal the girl. Life is tough! Rain coming in tomorrow…
ReplyDeleteI watched 2 monarchs mate here about a month ago - it was downright violent. Impressively so.
DeleteSo distressing to read these stories of weather driven by climate change. I can't look at the pictures of the dried up rivers. It's very depressing. Here in western Oregon, we've had a relatively wonderful summer. We had a very wet spring and it's saved us from terrible wild fires so far. The last 2 months have been completely dry, but we've only had about 5 days when the temperature hovered near 100. Many days start off with a lovely cool cloud cover which gradually burns off to a high of 80 to 90 degrees. It's lovely, unlike the 116 degrees of last summer.
ReplyDeleteNo water restrictions here. I water my flowers and strawberries every other day (unless it's 95 or above, then I water every day). I don't water the grass, although the back lawn still has some green because I use the sprinkler on the roses. My tomato growing friends report it's a bad year for tomatoes, due to the prolonged, wet spring.
So jealous!
DeleteI'm near the southern shore of Lake Erie here in northern Ohio. We've been mowing like crazy all summer. Some really hot, humid days in July and August, but comfortable now even when the humidity goes up as storms roll through. Rain here Saturday and Sunday, maybe today. Every time I turn a faucet on, I think of those of you suffering drought and wonder when it will be our turn.
ReplyDeleteCincinnati checking in after Killer Nashville. It's been hotter than Hades all summer, with humidity to match and yes, some (but not enough) rain. A fabulous year for crepe myrtles, which are bushes, not trees, like their southern cousins.
ReplyDeleteI'm also in Southern CT. As described above, hot, humid, crunchy lawn. Tomatoes not as productive as usual thanks to early pruning by deer and weather since then. A tip for other tomato growers: get these plastic cones with holes, screw in a clean 2-liter soda bottle with the bottom cut off. Plant these when the tomatoes go in and fill with water. Avoids fungus from watering and all the water goes to the roots. The plastic cones last for years, and I replace the soda bottles every year or when they start to grow stuff. A little clean sand in the cone slows the rate that the water reaches the roots.
ReplyDeleteI sure wish I'd done that this year. My poor tomatoes got a blight and they have been far less productive this year, even with our new fence around the garden.
DeleteThanks for the tip for the future!
Brilliant!!
DeleteThanks for the tip! Where do you get these plastic cones?
DeleteWell, I've lived in the Ohio Valley all my life, and this summer was fairly normal, for once. Except, we have had only one day over 90 in August, and record rainfall here (I keep a rain gauge) of well over six inches (which most certainly did raise the humidity). Our grass is the lushest and greenest it's ever been at this point in the summer. Steve is cursing over having the mow more than usual. Typically, by this point the grass stops growing because of the heat. Not this year.
ReplyDeleteBut rain is spotty. Sometimes we here by the river get lots more than the northern suburbs, where Margaret lives, and where I grew up and still have family. It's weird.
But not as weird as Arizona getting loads of rain and New England getting parched. That's very strange, indeed. I mourn for all your lost landscape plants.
My hydrangeas thank you...
DeleteI love that Ellie is having a good summer :) So cute!
ReplyDeleteOh, all the plants that have died this summer -- so sad! Especially Deborah's Japanese maple tree, what a loss. Here in the NC mountains we've had heat and humidity that is horrible. Without AC we would have wilted. When I was a kid growing up here, no one had AC because we didn't need it. Now we do. Hugs for you guys who are suffering.
ReplyDeleteHere in SW Florida we have just experienced the hottest weekend on record. This week is more of the same. People have stopped walking their dogs for fear their toe pads will burn. Ouch. Not much rain either. Not a normal summer.
ReplyDeleteHoping it's not the "new normal"... the one climate scientists have been warning us about.
DeleteHere in Upstate NY we had a spell of very hot weather. Hot for us, that is in the high 90s. Since then we've had reasonably warm weather for the season, but surprising the humidity has not been too bad at all. Usually it is extremely high. But no rain, or so little that it doesn't help anything, maybe even makes things worse. I've been hand watering but I don't have many plants to worry about. What I do worry about is my well. It has never gone dry but we've never had conditions like these either. So I am trying to be more sparing with what water I use. I catch the water while I am waiting for hot, and then use that for watering the plants. I do not often need hot water, maybe only once a day.
ReplyDeleteYou're being a good citizen, Judi - I do think if everyone pulls a little bit in the same direction it will make a differnce.
DeleteI live close to Rhys, where we don’t see rain between April and November, or even later. No lawn, but I created a small wildflower garden in that space, with California natives that handle our weather and attract butterflies and birds. I water my two raised veggie beds carefully, keep the birdbaths full, and retreat to the coolest corner of my house when it gets over 95 degrees! And I beg the universe to spare us the deadly wildfires that have been so tragic these last years. (Susan C Shea)
ReplyDeleteSusan, your garden is gorgeous!! Even with all our native perennials, we've seen fewer bees and butterflies this summer. Very worrying.
DeleteI live about 90 kms west of Toronto. It is agricultural land mostly save that turned over to academics and tech stuff. We have had moderate temps but not nearly enough rain. The farmers are feelling it. Many of them are old order Mennonites, many more are organic producers. Irrigation isn't a big thing. Lots of crop damage.
ReplyDeleteHere's my question. Where is the water? We were taught that the finite by stable amount of water on the earth circulated through evaporation/precipitation cycles. If no one is getting any rain (European rivers are drying up, too) then where is the water?
I have a theory that there is an unprecedented amount of captured water right now. There are more toilets, water heaters, ice makers, and bottled water and other liquids than ever before in our earth's history. All kept out of the evaporation/precip cycles.
DeleteAn interesting thought. Grace probably has an answer, too. Since, as I recall, that's what she studied.
DeleteRight we need Grace to weigh in... but it seems to me all the flooding we've been reading could be part of the answer to "where does all the water go?"
DeleteIt's been a bit cooler than normal here in So Cal as well. It was actually cool on the 4th of July, which never happens. But the last couple of weeks have been right around 100. Not complaining. I enjoy the heat.
ReplyDeleteBeing a new resident in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (Lexington) I don't know if we're having a normal summer or not. I've found it pleasant with very few days above 90. Whereas Houston has been sitting in one of the circles of hell with days of 100+ degree weather. Not normal. But no hurricane threats so far in the Gulf. August and September are prime months so we'll see what happens.
ReplyDeletePat D. Still anonymous.
DeleteIt sure would be swell if we get a reprieve on hurricanes this year.
DeleteIt is actually raining here in North Texas today, lovely gentle rain and it's very dark--perfect writing (or copy editing!) weather. If you've seen reports of flooding in North Texas on the news, don't worry, we are fine in our little spot in McKinney.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking your Japanese maple tree might just come back next year, so don't cut it down. The same thing happened to my sister's JMT. She gave it lots of water and it came back. Of course, if next year's weather is as bad as this, all bets are off.
DeleteThanks, Judi, but both Japanese maples were already in bad shape after our neighbors cut down the tree that shaded them. This summer has finished them off.
DeleteThanks for posting this and letting us know, Debs . . . I saw all that Texas flooding on the evening news and hopped right over here to find out if you were okay . . . glad to know that you are.
DeleteIt’s raining here too! hallelujah!
ReplyDeleteHallie, the radar maps look like it's raining by you and Hank - yay! It's just be beginning up here.
ReplyDeleteWe’re headed to Vermont for a cycling tour next week and it looks like some days of rain, but I guess I shouldn’t be sad since you need it.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve had the monsoonal humidity for a few weeks now, longer than anytime in the 31 years we’ve lived here.
Lisa in Long Beach
HALLIE: What a timely (for lack of a better word) post. So far in the Bay Area (about 10 minutes across the SR Bridge from Rhys' town), the weather has been in the 70s, which means it is not too hot, though I am hot all the time with the approaching menopause. Yesterday I was outside sitting in the patio area and it became chilly in the late afternoon with the winds! Right now the main concern is the Quality of Air. For the last 28 plus days, we have been receiving SMOG ALERTS from the Sierra Club. I have been fighting a major sinus infection and the Flonase medication currently is making me dizzy and sleepy.
ReplyDeleteThat darn air pollution! Wishing that I could go to Europe. I NEVER got sick in Scandinavia.
Diana
I'm just back from Marin (the Mystery Writers conference at Book Passage in Corte Madera) and I was SO HOT packing that I brought only sleeveless cottony clothes and nearly froze my buns off. I was desperate for a pair of socks to wear with my sandals.
DeleteJust a crazy summer, the hottest July on record, very wet August, and the most days over 100 ever. The Great Salt Lake is drying up and so is Lake Powell, while Moab, and desert towns are flooding. Interesting how many bodies have surfaced in the drying Lake Mead south of Las Vegas. So not everything that takes place in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Even so, I regret seeing shorter days, and while I enjoy the cooler nights I will miss summer.
ReplyDeleteFlying over your part of the country 2 weeks ago and there was a gigantic white expanse, The Great Salt "Lake" looking very unlake-like
DeleteArizona! Drought conditions for sure but always high heat summers here. I think we did get a day or two around 114. I’m shocked when I see the high temps in places like Boston and other places with high humidity. Our humidity isn’t so bad. Thank heavens. I’m a person who gets my sweaters out when it’s about 80-85. It’s sad to hear about trees and plants dying from the crazy heat though. Luckily we have had some rains lately and more than last year. Then there’s the flash flooding!
ReplyDeleteMother Nature is angry, I think. 🥰
We'll definitely need to cut back on the hydrangeas and other water guzzling shrubs and trees. Our standby maples and oaks are ok, but they're saying we're not going to get much foliage color come the fall.
DeleteI live in the geographic center of California, about twelve miles inland from the coast. I’m about 100 miles south of Rhys, who lives near the coast. Our inland climate is much hotter. We have daily temperatures above 90 and near 100 from May to the end of October. This summer has been typical in terms of temperatures and weather. We have had several days exceeding 105. We have sunny and dry conditions from February and no significant rain until December. Recent years November has continued very warm into the eighties. One good thing about our climate, it does cool off at night because of west winds off the ocean, no fog here though. We actually had normal rainfall last winter. We are used to using water in smart ways, we have a huge grass and flower garden in the front yard that thrives in our weather conditions, most are native plants. Our backyard is deck and pool, with trees that like our climatic conditions. Out garden is doing very well, we have had tomatoes since May and will continue until November. I think because our weather has always been dry the area has adapted better to changing weather conditions. The main change here is it is much hotter, longer and much higher humidity. We use irrigation watering, and timed watering systems that eliminate evaporation and use the water most efficiently.
ReplyDeleteSusan Nelson-Holmdahl
Susan, this sounds so smart! Wondering if you have any recommendation for the rest of us on where to look for ideas for living with drought (or semi-drought) condtions?
DeleteHallie: In my area the best resource for water conservation and using native plantings is our local water district. They have information on drought smart use of water and native plant gardening. There are also local master gardening groups that have information and expertise in native plants for landscaping that are drought tolerant and require very little water. They also provide small trees that grow well in our climate with less water. The trees provide shade and cooling for our very warm climate. The local California University Environmental department also has similar programs.
DeleteI am almost afraid to post today! Here in the Crown of Maine we have had a delightful spring and summer. Lots of rain, temps generally in the 50s at night and 70s during the day. Yes, the past two or three weeks have been hot, but well broken by rain. Old-timers say (and The Farmer's Almanac agrees) that this type of spring/summer is a harbinger of a cold and snowy winter. We'll see. I can remember winters of 200" of snow and temps in the -50 range for week. Don't remember a spring and summer this lovely preceding them.
ReplyDeleteHoping it continues - I'm heading up to Maine soon. (200" of snow???!!!!)
DeleteYep, winter of 2007/2008
DeleteI keep thinking about the movie DON'T LOOK UP. Our reality is DON'T LOOK DOWN ... at the dead grass and plants. I had to move a lot of my potted plants on the deck under the apple tree for shade. Oregon has become northern California. We used to have so much rain, but that's no longer true. Next week it will be in the 90s. I thought I'd left the humidity behind when I left NH, but we are now experiencing humidity for some weird reason. I really feel for all of you in Boston, NE, other East Coast hot spots where the humidity is dreadful. We all need AC. Thankfully we put in AC four years ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of FANS... to take the hot air OUT as well as bring cool air IN. But sometimes you need A/C. Particularly for our friends in central California or Arizona or Nevada or...
DeleteThe humidity in summer for Oregon and California started about fifteen years ago. Our summer humidity used to be twenty to thirty per cent. Now it climbs as high as seventy or eighty percent. The recent humidity of the last month can be attributed to the monsoon clouds and precipitation that have come on the jet stream out of the South Pacific. Usually the monsoon clouds and air stay much further south and come much later. Monsoon used to come in late August or September to San Diego and Arizona. This year it started in late July and has lingered in southern and Northern California as well as part of Oregon.
DeleteI hate heat. Anything over the low 80s is stay in and stay cool in the AC weather for me. My ideal temp is around 70, 68-73. But, the Ohio River valley here in western Kentucky is hot and humid in the summer. Words such as hot and muggy are often used in the forecast. And, of course, there's that it's going to be 95 but feel like 105. I know those of you who have the 100 plus temps think I'm whining unnecessarily, but the 90s plus the humidity is not a pleasant experience. What really irks me is when the weatherman announces that it will be cooler (as if that word should be in his mouth), in the mid 80s, and it always seems to creep up to 88 or so. Do not use the word "cooler" unless we will be in the 70s. Don't fool me into thinking that it will be "cooler" enough to walk the dog a short walk, because it isn't. Thankfully, husband and proud father to Lulu the Brittany Spaniel takes her for an insanely early morning walk, a long walk where she can chase butterflies. You will see me outside again possibly the end of September. But, of course, we seem to go from hot to a very few days of cool to cold. I really need to move, maybe to the mountains. Oh, we have had some rain, a feast or famine affair. Of course, I try not to complain about our amounts of rain, as our unfortunate fellow Kentuckians in the eastern, southeastern part of the state have recently had the devastating flooding, with entire communities wiped out.
ReplyDeletePeople may deny the effects of climate change, but I know that I grew up with no central air conditioning until I was 15, and we didn't have the oppressive heat that seems everywhere now. I went to school for twelve years with no air conditioning, and while there may have been some hot days, I honestly don't remember a lot of complaining. Maybe we were made of sterner stuff back then. I know I'm spoiled with the central air conditioning when it's hot and the comfortable warmth when it's cold. Just adjust a thermostat, and the magic happens. I really should never complain, with so much of the world suffering without relief.
We had no a/c growing when I was growing up in Los Angeles... but we were on the ocean side of the mountains. when it got bad my dad would get out the hose and water the terracotta tiles on the roof. Now I'm wondering if that's a made-up memory. I cannot imagine my dad climbing on the roof. And yet...
DeleteRight this minute I can see blue sky and the sun is out, despite some clouds. Two out of three weather websites I just checked are reporting that it’s raining in my town. Maybe across town, but not right where I am!
ReplyDeleteOverall, I prefer summer to winter. In the summer it’s safe for me to walk around outside and there are no worries about having to shovel snow and possibly undo my spinal fusion! I’ll put up with the occasional unusually hot summer because I do feel safer during the summer.
DebRo
I agree! Summer in New England (too) beats winter. Getting out and walking is so important, staying active and healthy.
DeleteIt’s raining it’s raining! The tomatoes are applauding!
ReplyDeleteTomatoes this late in the season don't do well with very much rain. They will get a fungus and quit producing fruit.
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ReplyDeleteOh, that was me, above! I love the rain is so welcome here, and so terrifying that elsewhere, it isn’t.
Here, too! A half-inch so far and more promised. Exhale.
DeleteSwitzerland's hot is not Texas's or New England's hot, so I won't complain. But for us it has been an extraordinary summer. Drought and heat beyond anything we've ever had--it reached 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) in Geneva. And don't forget that no homes here are air conditioned. Luckily we have lots of cross drafts blowing through our apartment, and I have a big floor fan next to my desk and another blowing on our bed so we can fall asleep. We also close up the whole house with wooden shutters as the day heats up, which works wonders. Scary to think this is only the beginning, through.
ReplyDeleteKim, we love that you're coming to us from Switzerland! 100 in Geneva seems unfathomable. It does suddenly feel like a very small world.
DeleteMy in laws are in Norther Italy and they say this is the hottest summer they have ever experienced there. They live in the foothills of the Alps near France and Switzerland.
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