Beating the Heat

[bradl]

Seems like everything and everywhere is trying to come to a boil over the next few days.

I was thinking it was too hot for the dogs to do much more than flop around on the coolish floor so maybe this weekend would be a good time to install the latest forum updates, but there are a few plugins we use that aren't yet ready for the update (photo competition and map, primarily) so I can't busy myself with that.

Looks like it going to still be hot well past bedtime.

I guess my only hope is for an evening breeze is if I scrounge up an old Dan Hicks song from an album called, appropriately enough, Beatin' the Heat.

May all your Cairns have a frosty paws or at least all the cool water they desire, and save some for yourself. 

[Sam I Am]

We feel your pain...this is not supposed to happen up here! https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/ab-50_metric_e.html

[Kathryn]

Ouch! We went through that a few weeks ago, with 9 days straight nearly 100 or over.  But at least here we have central air conditioning, and it certainly ran day and night. The dogs laid around on the floor near the air conditioning vents, and I just stayed inside. (Not going much of anywhere anyway in my full body brace...)

 What do you do out there when it hits those highs?

[bradl]

The paper was encouraging: the high today expected to be 110 but the  "feels like" correction is only  109! Woo hoo! Tomorrow will be hotter.  

We have AC although we allow the grid to adjust it up for "community energy events" and tend to use it lightly anyway for fear of overwhelming it or going broke. We run the furnace fan all day and we added a fan in the family room last night. This morning I went to the attic and pulled down three more fans in case our AC goes up in smoke. We have one battery powered fan that's quiet that we'll use if we lose power and probably use it in the bedroom at night.

Peggy went to the grocery store this morning at 7 am (her usual time on weekends) and where normally the store is just her and a handful of shoppers vastly outnumbered by the shelf-stocking crew today she said it was like the day before Christmas at noon!  

The dogs go out for potty breaks of course, but come Right Back In. Elroy likes to flop in the sun on the deck, even when I think it's hellacious. Yesterday he went out, flopped down for five seconds, then came right back in. No fool he. 

Mostly, though, we cope by thinking about how fortunate we are.

[bradl]

This is the order of the day. In between flops on the floor.

[Kathryn]

Actually, Brad. That looks like a regular day around here

 

Edited June 28, 2021 by Kathryn
typo

[Sam I Am]

Lucky the both of you..no AC in our house or most houses in our area. This is crazy weather for us. I am actually hoping for snow which of course won’t happen now. I think I prefer the -40. Upstairs bedrooms 88 degrees!  We are now the basement people with two Terriers hiding out. And the worst of the heat is mid next week!

Edited June 28, 2021 by Sam I Am

[bradl]

Oh dear, nothing like the wait for worse weather. Time to make a swamp cooler? https://www.diycraftsy.com/homemade-swamp-cooler/

Our forecast for the day is 117 (47.2).  All the blinds are down in every room, including the patio door. The dogs are going to have to sign an affidavit and hefty promissory note  if they want me to open that door for them.

[Hillscreek]

Like with Kathryn very few people have A/C round here. Not for nothing do most of the old homes sit in the shade of large trees. 

[Sam I Am]

Mmmm....the swamp cooler is pretty nifty!  I was thinking if I soaked Sam in water and made him stand beside a fan...would that work..mmmmm

 

[bradl]

I like it. Put Sam to work. Win-Win!

[sanford]

Brad: Re Elroy lying in the hot sun...Ruffy used to like to do that on the sunny, scorching terrace... until I was advised that some dogs can overheat too quickly, so I kept him inside on hot days after that.

Edited June 28, 2021 by sanford
Revise

[bradl]

You are quite right. He has been pretty good at self-regulating so far (and we are with him) but I have seen dogs in heat distress and it's scary as the dickens.

[Islander]

Here is Gus beating the heat last Saturday fishing in a creek in the shade.

Sunday and Monday were much hotter, we went swimming at 9 am and then just lay around.

No AC here either. I managed to locate a small table fan, as scarce as toilet paper in March 2020.

Fortunately for us - heat dome is moving east - sorry, Sam I am!

Edited June 29, 2021 by Islander

[bradl]

Very soothing photo of Gus, I must say. I feel cooler just looking at it  

[Toto-lee Cairn]

On 6/28/2021 at 12:09 AM, Sam I Am said:

 I am actually hoping for snow which of course won’t happen now. 

Never say, 'never.'  But I am most definitely with you, preferring winter now to summer, any day of the year.

We had a lovely spring here with cool temps in the a.m. and p.m., enough so that George and I could sit on the screened-in porch to enjoy a beverage, or two, a chat, and the sights and sounds of nature.  The two boys would settle-in, Toto, usually on my lap, and Rupert, in his sphinx pose beside George's chair.

We manage to carve-out a little time early, early in the a.m., but after maybe 20-30 minutes, the humidity gets me.  George much prefers the heat so sometimes he'll stay out with the dogs, letting them do their dog-stuff.

NC has seen days in the upper 90s, with 'feels like' temps well over 100-105.  We already suffered thru having to replace a/c units -- the downstairs unit about 2 years ago, the upstairs unit this June.  A/C units now are much more efficient, and I don't turn them on until I absolutely can't stand it, anymore (usually if I can't sleep for sticking to the sheets).  But, I set them fairly high, and wear loose clothing, and eat light.  And drink more -- water by the gallon, some tea, lemonade, an occasional soft drink, maybe even Kool-Aid (when I want to feel like a kid).

I am always grateful for the rain, but then comes the humidity.

So, I feel your pain.  It bothers me to see all that is happening across the US, N America, and the world, really, and think if people don't get on-board with doing something about it, this will all become the norm.