We're in another heat wave, to top off the discomfort of the wildfire haze. It was hot yesterday at 30C, hotter today at 32C and hotter tomorrow at 33C. Yesterday rolling thunderstorms consumed the afternoon non-stop, which sheltered us from the rays of the sun, but today the skies are clear and unobstructed and the heat is sweltering; humid, dense and HOT. Which makes us grateful for air-conditioning. We had toughed out the high temperatures up to now, but it's time to make the house cooler.

 

 

No more flinging the windows open, except if the temperature outdoors is better than indoors. Kind of crazy, since we were circulating outside air within the house when the air quality was impacted badly by the wildfire smoke. Early morning's the best part of the day, competing with early evening, for temperature relief. The sun is wonderful; it lights up the library that is cantered to capture the blaze of early morning.

 

 

This morning we kept the sliding doors in the breakfast room closed. Jillie asked to go out on the deck to soak in the sun several times but didn't last long. The heat is completely enervating, both she and her brother lolled about drowsily after their breakfast. 

 

 

After cleaning up the bathrooms, it suddenly occurred to me we could use a nice crisp, piquant salad to accompany the barbecued hamburgers Irving plans to do for dinner. I had all the ingredients; broccoli, green onion, dried cranberries, tomatoes, so that's just what I did.

 

 

The backyard, and for that matter, the trees at the front of the house, have been hosting birds galore; robins, sparrows, cardinals, and a lone dove. They love the dense greenery. As do the rabbits and chipmunks whose presence Jackie and Jillie feel so indignant about, not having asked their permission to enter their territory. Sometimes they just burst out of the house, intent on scaring up their outdoor counterparts.

 

Irving and I deliberated awhile over exposing ourselves to the totally exhausting heat, but those are rare occasions when we decide not to get out and enjoy a hike through the forest, and today was no exception to our usual routine. For one thing, despite the high humidity, there was an energetic breeze we could take advantage of, along with the assurance that the forest canopy would afford us generous shade.

 

These days there is no one else to be seen out on the trails. We took our time, and Jackie and Jillie did their usual poking about, curious about everything, wanting to ensure they don't miss anything. We found that the heat and humidity magnified the fragrance of the blooming elderberry trees, their perfume this afternoon smelled just as though someone had a pot of heavily sugared water simmering in preparation for putting out hummingbird syrup.

 

We restrained ourselves to a quite short circuit that took us well  under an hour. Which was fine with Jackie and Jillie, they're exhausted by heat exposure just as we can be. The time spent and the pleasure we all had was well worth the effort -- it always is. Before leaving the pollinating meadow I waded out in the depth of the waist-high grasses after noting the presence of Black-eyed Susans beginning to proliferate.

 

When we arrived back home, we felt it useful today not to linger outside in the garden where the sun hadn't yet shifted enough in its trajectory so that the bulk of the house would provide shade over the gardens. The sun glints like gold on the leaves and petals in the garden, and we could see them visibly languishing in the heat, actually wilting.

 

Later, I went out to the backyard to clean the birdbath and fill it with cold, fresh water. And irrigate the gardens there and do the same with the garden pots. Later still, while Irving was out on a round of errands, I swept the garage floor notionally, then watered the annuals in the garden and the gasping-for-cool-water garden pots. By then it was all in shade and the atmosphere felt pleasantly tolerable. I could almost hear the flowers whisper their pleasure.