Dry Heat

Hot. Just HHOOOOOOTTTTTT. The last few days......hhhhhhoooooooottttttt.

Luna and I do things in the morning, then we are done with outside for the day. Meaning anything outside for longer than 10 minutes.

I am blessed with a huge patio on the south-north-east side of my house. So my patio/back door area is always shaded except for a low sliding slice of sunlight between 4 pm and 6 pm. The temps on the patio are usually 4-5 degrees less then the high for the day. Enjoying a glass of ice tea on the patio at lunch today...for fifteen minutes...not a bad thing.

That Mr. Tuttles. Now Mr. Tuttles is a desert tortoise. But that doesn't mean that these daily temps between 105* and 117* can't fry his little brain. Hence a good underground den is called for. He has one. But one little trick I do to make sure things stay a little cool in his general area is let the hose drip on to the flagstone in front of his den. That way the stones stay cool and any breeze wafting over them heads into his den for a little cool down. His den stays dry but it's not 110+ plus in there!

Yesterday I even checked the temp with a remote tempy thing (technical term -- shut up, it is so.) While it was 107* on the patio, 116* NOT on the patio, Mr. Tuttles den was 81*.

Which was cooler than my 82* bedroom at 6pm. Sigh.

Really, who here is smarter. Luna, Mr. Tuttles or me? It's like a B & B around here for any non-human forms. Luna, dog food available 24/7 with treats upon coming in from outside. Mr. T received freshly ground Mega-Diet enhanced greens this morning at 6:14 am. Me? Ice coffee. Freshly brewed though. It would have been nice to have it delivered by Johnny Depp as Captain Sparrow but I digress......

Even the ants outside...boric acid and peanut butter were served for breakfast today! Clorox for the buggers in the upstairs bathroom with a glaze of bug spray will greet them for lunch if they dare step one foot into/on the tub. No more ant fiestas there. I have only seen a few but that is a few to many.

Today, many unfun things to do not worth mentioning.

BUT!!! There is going to be some knitting somewhere. I still have to turn the heel on the second sock so both are ready for the upcoming 'toe' class next week.

And I've started 'Ene.'


From 'Scarf Style.' (If you click on that link to Scarf Style, you'll go to Luna's Amazon Store. Woot!) Cast on 375 stitches. Yes, I did that.

Now I'm thinking that 'lace weight' yarn -- "Cashwool" to be exact, is toooooooooo thin. It's 'extra fine merino.'

What was I thinking?

I made this: Chilled Buttermilk Beet Borscht.
I didn't add the sugar honey, dill pickle or cucumber. I can't believe how good this COLD soup is. It is WONDERFUL!!!

“Coolness and absence of heat and haste indicate fine qualities”
--Ralph Waldo Emerson