A month and a half ago, a friend in Texas complained that it was in the 70s at 6:30am. Well, guess what? Yesterday it was 72 degrees here outdoors at 6:30am–and 82 in the kitchen! Hel-lo-o! This is supposed to be a cold climate. We don’t have air conditioning because it’s supposed to be a cold climate. And our only recourse to combat heat is to run the fans at night to draw cool air into the house, and there hasn’t been any cool air at night lately. By the time I was done cooking, the kitchen temp. had risen to 90, and all I had done was poach chicken! According to our records, taken from my max-min thermometer, since June 1st 35 days have had a high of 88 or warmer, and the last ten days have all been 90 degrees or higher. (All temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit, by the way.)
I’m telling you, this ought not to be. It’s not fair! It’s false advertising! The unrelenting heat depresses me. I feel powerless against it, victimized. All projects requiring physical exertion have been postponed till it cools off, which, at this rate, might not be until fall. (Of course, autumn begins in mid-August around here–less than a month away.) While I concede that my ambition to get every flower bed weeded this summer was a tad delusional, I was hoping to make more progress than I have. I did weed the peony bed on the one day that it stayed in the 70s one morning last week; that was very satisfying. And I do thank God for the rain. We have gotten 2″ so far this month. Our monthly average is 3.5″, so we will probably be a bit short–but it could be much worse, given this heat. So I should stop complaining, right? Because it could always be worse. And tomorrow, it just might be.
About Kathy Purdy
Kathy Purdy discovered the joys of writing in fourth grade, when she started corresponding with a former classmate. She's been writing letters ever since, first on looseleaf, then electronically, and now as weblog entries. That makes you, the blog reader, her pen pal. Her first independent (though frustrating) attempts at gardening were made in high school, though the gardening bug didn't bite hard until her mid-thirties, when she found herself mistress of a rural home on 15 acres. • USDA Hardiness Zone:4 • AHS Heat Zone: 3 • Location: rural; Southern Tier of NY • Geographic type: foothills of Appalachian Mountains • Soil Type: acid clay • Experience level: intermediate • Particular interests: colchicums, narcissus, cottage gardening, NY native plants, gardening with/for children
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It’s hotter in Texas of course but for us the summer is a time of rest, both for the garden and the gardener. Many plants here go dormant. Gardening is for the fall and spring.
So I do feel sympathy for you when you lose your summer.
Twitter: @ZanthanGardens
Somehow I managed to leave my comment on the weather on the wrong post. I hate it when people get off-topic on my blog, so my apologies. Hope you find a way to keep cool.
I’m with you. And the same ugly heat happening here. For me, anything over 75 is too hot, and 85-90 is utterly impossible. Add to that unceasing wind, and the garden and I are exhausted. I broke down and have hired some help with the weeding–it does make it feel as though I might live. It is still doing 40′s/50′s at night, but if it keeps up like this, that will fade to 60′s.
I know, I know, those south of me are guffawing. True, 77 and 40% humidity at 7:30 pm (as I write this) is not standard suffering, but it’s relative. It was about 90 all afternoon and I wilted.