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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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How can we not talk about the weather when it's affecting every part of our days from good morning to good night? We get out of bed as dawn is barely breaking and we can't see out the windows because they're all steamed up like after a hot shower and droplets of condensation run down the panes in straight lines to the bottom. We check the digital thermometer and see that the outdoor temperature is 81 degrees at 6 o'clock in the morning. We click on television and they're talking about the heat index. I didn't grow up with the heat index. I just grew up with the heat and there was nothing hotter than doing hay. Alfalfa dust from the baler and wayward whisks of straw would sneak inside my clothes with the sweat running down all sides of my neck. But it was a lot worse for Dad who rode the skid in back of the baler and we became brown as nuts in the hot summer sun. On the hottest days Mom had the pressure cooking going to town then letting off steam on the kitchen stove. The summer heat and rain pushed the green beans and tomatoes to grow like crazy, so it makes sense that canning also occurred in the heat. Fresh produce only stays fresh so long. We picked the green beans every two or three days or so, before they became big and fat, but we preferred those juicy red tomatoes to be big and fat for canning. And we liked our corn on the cob young and sweet. Today, all these many years later, as another heat wave continues to rage across the country, I find myself sitting rather still in an air conditioned home office, at my computer, communicating online to hundreds of people about Gazette related things, classical music playing in the background, and there is no sweat running down my neck. It's tranquil here and many times I have the inclination to stay put in these peaceful shrine-like quarters, regardless the calendar of events staring me in the face. I feel much the same way on a cold blustery day in the midst of winter. Does anything beat the joy and comfort of home sweet home? When the condensation disappears from our morning windows we see that it's another blue sky scorcher ahead of us. How do we keep the grass mowed and the weeds at bay with rain every night and a triple digit heat index every day? The lawn seems to have large patches of a purple hue. Is it a mirage? And so I glance once again at the calendar of events that beckons for my attention. But it's 99 degrees in the shade this Wednesday evening. Why would I leave the delicious coolness of my home to swelter in heat and humidity at a concert in the park? I choose to stay home and make gluten-free chocolate chip cookies for my grandchildren, and also gluten free cupcakes, some with white frosting, some with chocolate. Another Wednesday evening arrives and my digital thermometer tells me the outdoor temperature is 95 degrees. That is also not a good number, especially with the high humidity. I'm not happy to miss the concerts in the park here in Victoria -- I enjoy the music, the oak canopy, the people, and photo opportunities for the Gazette -- but common sense is pretty important to me as I make decisions from one moment to the next. I don't need to suffer unnecessarily. I'm reminded of the first years that the City of Victoria sponsored concerts in the park for us. I didn't miss any of them, but they used to begin in June when people were excited to get outdoors after a long winter. Large crowds of families and children gathered every Wednesday evening. Spring breezes were refreshing and inviting, not stagnant and stifling. I wish the City of Victoria would return to June concerts in the park, completing them in July rather than beginning them in July. Allan goes out to mow our yard at 8 o'clock in the morning, which is rather early for rattling awake the neighborhood kids but he wants to take advantage of the morning "coolness." High moisture content in the air and in the ground makes everything grow. He comes in dripping wet only a half hour later. Since both he and I spend much of each day sitting on a chair (different chairs, comfortable rocker-type chairs with cushy seats and backs, mine in Victoria, Allan's in Wayzata) in front of a computer screen, we choose not to sit on riding lawnmowers. We walk behind ours. But don't feel too sorry for us. His big one takes a 5-foot wide swath and it's self-propelled. In another half hour or so the big job is done and only the trimming remains. I prefer to get my exercise at the Mall of America It's even too hot to bob on Lake Minnetonka and the sailboats are struggling because there's not enough of a breeze. Such heat is not good for leisure or labor. Much of the country remains in the red zone, even now at the beginning of August. Rain again drenched Victoria on the afternoon of August 1st. I'm happy to be on the inside looking out, and I'm happy to be working on the Gazette. |
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August 2011 |
