It's Too Darned Hot: The Farm Report 07-19-2019

It's Too Darned Hot

The Farm Report 07-19-2019

I had to chuckle this morning. O.J. was laying in a corner where he never lays. He's an old tomcat, and he has his habits pretty well set. Changing scenery for naps is not in his patterns. So why did he decide to couch out in this corner? They say the only way you can see the wind is by looking at the leaves as they blow in the breeze. Not much to see here, but O.J. is laying exactly where the overhead AC vent is blowing down onto the floor. This is upstairs in a little room that was once designated as the 'Sewing Room.' I find it to be an ideal reading room. That window looks out over Walnut Creek valley from the highest place in my house, and my house is way up on a hill. Beautiful any time of year; you can see for miles and miles - as if he would care.

So here is the main reason for today's title:

Fremont County

Sunny

94°F

Today

95°F79°F

Fri

98°F79°F

Sat

92°F68°F

Sun

79°F62°F

Mon

82°F60°F

This morning when I first looked, it was already in the 80'sF AND RAINING! What they say is true: It ain't the heat, it's the humidity. In truth, it is both actually. I hate heat.

And then we get the weather warnings like this:

 ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT

SATURDAY...

* HEAT INDEX VALUES...PEAKING IN THE 106 TO 113 RANGE TODAY AND
FRIDAY, DUE TO AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES IN THE MID 90S TO AROUND
100 AND DEWPOINTS IN THE 70S. SATURDAY SHOULD BE NOT QUITE AS
HOT, WITH HEAT INDEX VALUES PEAKING IN THE 100 TO 108 DEGREE
RANGE.

If you look for it, you can usually find it. This is the climbing clematis outside my TV room window. It is a west facing window, and this vine is my 'organic' AC. It is amazing how the shade it gives helps keep the room cool. (Of course the great big AC unit running its socks off doesn't hurt, either!) Do you see the bird silhouette? That is Mamma Cardinal. 

Here is a little better picture of her. Cardinals love to nest in shrubs and low lying bushes. Happily for me, she has decided to nest right where I can see the whole show from my big comfy chair. This will be fun. Pappy Cardinal is so fire engine red right now, you'd think 'Cy' the Iowa State University mascot had moved in. (Gotta plug the old Alma Mater where I can, kids.) 

Just as a point of reference, Mamma C is sitting on the edge of her nest right here. The nests are tiny little things no bigger than a demitasse cup. I'll keep you posted. You'll need to look quickly though. Once the little chicks hatch, they do not stay in the nest long. After only a few days, they will be out popping around in the vines. Then it won't be much longer before they're gone on to bigger and better things for themselves. I've watch this show before....

How do they know? Here is O.J. again. This time, he is in Zoey's basket in the TV room. After I lost Zoey in January, I just couldn't bring myself to eliminating her favorite sleeping bed. So it has been just laying there ever since. O.J. has never, and I repeat, NEVER, used it even one time. Apparently he reads this blog though, because after I told you that a new pup was on the incoming list, all of a sudden, O.J. has decided to lay claim to the territory for himself. Possession is not 9 tenths, it is all 10 tenths as far as he is concerned. We'll see how long an Aussie Heeler pup will put up with his baloney. The trouble is, O.J. is a 3-dimensional chess player, and the pup will probably just be all kinetic energy. You can tell by O.J.'s attitude he plays the long game, and is willing to go into extra innings to get what he wants.  I think I'll go have a cooling beverage and think about the next moves. All is well here at Oakdale Farm, but it's too damned hot.