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Across the Fence:  Dog Days of Summer  |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 4:33:51 PM
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Farmgirls we are officially in what is termed as the "Dog days of summer". Has something to do with the dog star...up in that vast night sky. How do you all cope? We are broiling alive here in Midwest...No wind, dead calm, pounding sun and heat! I hate to shut myself up in the house, it is a waste of time if I don't have something to work on. I love to work outdoors but the heat is unrelenting. I can easily get sick this time of year because I tend to overdo out doors working in my vineyard and garden. Sooo, I wait till late evening when the bugs are out. I need to think cool... it's probably all in my head. There is more crime and violence in these hot, hot days and nights though... How do you all tune out the heat??
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 5:04:25 PM
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When we are in Wisconsin, we go out in the boat. Otherwise, I tend to stay in to control my allergies. It also affects my roscasea if I'm out too long or get overheated Easy for me to do!
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
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mollymae
True Blue Farmgirl
694 Posts
Molly
Visalia
California
USA
694 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 5:09:01 PM
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Stay inside with as many fans going as possible...the kids, poor things, want to play outside but it's sooo hot!
Cead Mile Failte,
Molly
"If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the Aching or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain" ~Emily Dickinson
**When life throws scraps your way ~ Make a Quilt!**
Sisterhood of the Traveling Art |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 5:36:40 PM
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We moved into a townhouse that has cement floors on the ground floor...so when I get overheated I just lay on the downstairs floor and let it leach all the heat out of my body...
Ciao
Alee |
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bubblesnz
True Blue Farmgirl
291 Posts
helen
New Zealand
291 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 5:50:40 PM
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I would love some warmth. We are in the middle of winter and I am longing for the hot summer months.
A great oak, is just a little nut which held it's ground. |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 6:06:29 PM
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I don't cope well with the heat at all so I can totally relate. It just makes me sick. Fortunately we haven't had much heat here yet. But in August we get a week or so where it will get in the 90s and maybe 100. Then it's not fun!
Do you have projects that you can work on inside? That's what I would choose to do and go outside in the early AM or evening. I feel for you because I've experienced those hot Midwest summers. My sister-in-law from IL called me today and she is sick of the heat too.
Kay - Living in Beautiful Washington State
North Clark County Farmgirls and
Sisterhood of the Traveling Art |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 9:24:45 PM
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I hate the heat too..but since my tomatoes love it I guess I have to deal with it. I have sweat running down my neck right now..it got up to 102 today and no sign of cooling off! I do my outside stuff as early and late as I can and come in the house and cool off when I have to. The kids cope by keeping wet..in the sprinkler and all...
I sometimes sneak down to the nice cool cellar and just stand there for awhile. I need to put a chair down there..and a few books maybe..hmmmm
Jenny in Utah
The best things in life arn't things! |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 9:38:13 PM
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Our basement feels so nice...it stays so cool. I am tempted to sleep down there but it is not finished and musty... Got another fan today...maybe I will spray the sheets with cold water and point the fan on them. It is miserable!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 10:38:34 PM
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When I was a kid growing up in IL we would head to the basement when it was really hot. Daddy even put a small TV down there. It was always so nice and cool. I don't know how you guys stand that kind of heat without air conditioning. I would just be sick. We only have a small one in our bedroom that I turn on if it really gets hot. We have no shade trees close to our house so the back gets sun from about 1:00 PM until it sets. And since it's a manufactured home it tends to get hotter than a regular house. I spend a lot of time on my porch which is on the east side of the house and stays cool in the afternoon. Usually a really nice breeze blowing. I'll pray that your heat wave ends soon!!
Kay - Living in Beautiful Washington State
North Clark County Farmgirls and
Sisterhood of the Traveling Art |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 10:50:47 PM
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It's been hot here too, and humid the last few days. I don't mind the heat, but the humidity kills me! I try to close up the house early , like 5:30 am, and turn on the fans. That usually keeps things 20 degrees cooler until around 2 pm, then all bets are off! Tonight we were invited to a friend's house for supper because they had air conditioning and we don't. What a blessing...and I didn't have to heat my house to cook!! I try to remember these days in February, when it gets really cold :) Like Jenny said, my tomatoes are loving it!
We're having a yard sale tomorrow. I think the kids will do well with their lemonade stand :) |
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farmgirlruns
Farmgirl in Training
13 Posts
Dana
Mount Vernon
WA
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2005 : 12:05:44 PM
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| Although it would get very crowded, you could all move to Northwest Washington. We are on our second day of summer today. We have had a very rainy summer so far and the 75 degree weather feels wonderful today. I have all my white clothes hanging on the line for the sun to brighten and oh how I love to look at them hanging so pretty in the sunlight. I love hang laundry and then just step back and look at it. Anyhow, I am sorry so many of you are dying from the heat. I tend to melt in the heat and so I guess I am living in the right place. One last thought, the only thing bad about the rain is there have been a lot of cancelled yard sales. |
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verbina
True Blue Farmgirl
231 Posts
randi
n.j
USA
231 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2005 : 3:32:49 PM
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| hi all !i keep cool with cen.air.i know im a big baby .i have two eng. bulls and one french bulldog and this heat would kill them. |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2005 : 5:20:00 PM
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Here in La Center, WA it is 94!!! Pretty for Western Washington. As the witch in the Wizard of Oz said, "Help, I'm melting."
Kay - Living in Beautiful Washington State |
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connio
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
connie
springtown
texas
USA
535 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2005 : 2:03:52 PM
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Hey Farm Girls!
It is sooooo hot here in North Texas--98-100 degrees most days and little rain. My outside activities are pretty limited, and I must admit that my flowers are suffering. I hire someone to mow the hayfield because I don't have a tractor.
My Central air is out so we are using window units in 2 rooms so guess where the dogs and I spend our time. The cats will go out for hours, but the dogs hate it. I keep telling them that they have large kennels and should love to be outside, but they refuse to listen. We can even see the neighbor's dogs in their kennels across the road, and I keep trying to explain to them that what they are seeing is normal. They just look at me as if they were saying "Are you kidding, stay out on a day like this!"
My mantra has become, "This too will pass."
Connie
cozycottage |
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shelley ginger
Farmgirl in Training
48 Posts
Shelley
Ossining
New York
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2005 : 03:50:49 AM
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I'm in New York State...just about 25 miles north of New York City. Yesterday it was 98 degrees here and I thought I would melt. It's going to be no better today. Ugh. My Erik works in Manhattan and I despite the fact that he's in AC all day, I don't envy him going into the city.
Like Kay (therusticottage) I remember heading into the basement as a kid where it was deliciously coooool!! We had a little black and white tv down there too. I saw the first John Denver television special on that set, lol!! I had to run upstairs and flip the channel real quick to see what color his shirt was. Oh my but I was smitten. I digress.
Thanks for the memory of the basement in the summer Kay!!
Hugs...Shelley in NY
http://www.erikandshelley.com
http://stillmeadowfriends.blogspirit.com/
We'll be friends until we're blue in the hair. |
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DeeHarp
Farmgirl in Training
39 Posts
Dee
Missouri
39 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2005 : 05:25:44 AM
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Hello Friends,
It is hot here in the state of Missouri! We are also having a dry summer...the gardens are suffering! I try to water...but we use rural water with chlorine....don't have a well...and it's not quite the same as a good, fresh rain! Outdoor work is limited to the mornings. I am an outdoor person, so being cooped up inside because of weather is hard!
Keep cool girls!
Dee :-)
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2005 : 09:34:00 AM
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I hear ya Dee...In Kansas today highs around 103...Friday could reach 108-109. When it gets like this I have to turn on Central air. I have been sick in my stomach with this heat so I am not going to suffer. Heat like this can make people very ill. when I was younger I tolerated this heat. We had no central air for several years back in the 80's. DH built a water coil cooler that ran cold water from the well through a coil and fans blew the air through the house. We still cool out upstairs this way and it does a decent job. Ground level is central air. With the ole hot flashes kicking in, the heat can be well, to put it mildly, the burning fire of #*#*. Fall hurry up and get here soon!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html |
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Linda Houston
True Blue Farmgirl
538 Posts
Linda
Lake Charles
Louisiana
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2005 : 4:29:02 PM
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I watched the weather channel this AM and saw that the midwest is in the grips of a heat wave. Please take care.
Linda H. |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2005 : 11:03:47 PM
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Jenny -- I'm glad you're turning on your A/C. A heat wave like you guys are having is no time to try to brave it out!! That kind of heat can really make people sick, or worse. I've been thinking about all you guys and praying for relief for you soon.
Kay - Living in Beautiful Washington State
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."
--Eleanor Roosevelt |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Jul 27 2005 : 8:06:15 PM
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When I was home this weekend I saw something really interesting on the news (imagine that!) They were talking about why so many seniors fail in the heat and the explaination will just blow you away. Many seniors who live in areas where they feel the need to keep their houses closed up for security or what have you, place fans throughout the closed up home thinking they are cooling their homes. The fact is that they are super heating the hot air trapped in the closed up house and their house quite literally becomes a convection oven. Moving the air around just super heats it and the temperatures continue to rise inside the closed up house. Many seniors lose the ability to regulate their own body temp ( or lose awareness of it ) so they can't tell that they are actually cooking themselves. Strange, but true. So check on neighbors, grandparents and anyone you think might be doing this inadvertently.
We have two window units at home that do a good job of cooling us down but up here there are just 2 ceiling fans so sleeping in the loft is out of the question in the heat. We are all sprawled throughout the "not so great" room, which is not very large at all.
Kind of like a grown up slumber party at this point, but the kids will be back next week and hopefully it will have cooled down by then. Today it was 99 here and at home it is usually 10-15 degrees higher...arghhh!!!My garden is probably done for at this point , it looked pretty sad on Sunday before I came back up.
As for keeping cool... tie a wet bandana around your neck, keep drinking small but continuous amounts of water all day, if you have overdone it, come in to the cool house if you have one and soak your feet in cool water and place a cool wet cloth on your head.Just like in winter, your head and feet are the most important areas to consider for heat conduction.Protect your head and face with a hat and sunscreen all over, a case of sunburn in this heat is THE WORST! If you have really overheated yourself, get into the tub and run cool water and stay in there for as long as you can stand it until you feel yourself cooling down. Also, make sure you have not lost too much potassium in this heat! Apples, bananas and V8 juice are good sources so that you don't develop leg cramps, muscle spasms and worse due to a deficit of potassium. I hope we all find a cool breeze soon, stay well ladies and gents! The work will still be there when the heat lets up!
with a happy heart |
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Across the Fence: Dog Days of Summer |
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Dog Days of Summer
