Porch Weather

 

Summer weather left us this past weekend. Our area has had a record 80 days without rain ! As much as I miss the rain ( it is back now ) I do love being able to sit on the porch with the dogs and spin wool while I watch the deer and wild turkeys in our pastures and along the edge of our woods. ( Here is an old enamel ware pot filled with plantings I had on a table top on the porch.)

Lazy days in the heat were spent enjoying the rockers on the porch while the dogs napped.

Beatrix will be 13 years old next month. She is my constant companion and if I am spinning wool outdoors she will be laying nearby. The summer was very hot, fires from Canada, Montana, Oregon , and some areas nearby in our state gave us many weeks of  hazy air so thick with smoke we had to limit our time outdoors. This past weekend the rain and cold weather moved in. Our pastures need it, but even more so do our forests. The weather here now drops to the low 40's and high 30's at night and we are expecting frost soon. I still sit on the porch and spin wool , but now I am wearing a warm jacket and wool socks. Beatrix has begun to grow her winter coat and her fur serves her well. She is just happy to lay nearby.

Parched

We've been gone. Over the mountains and far away to visit our sons and their families. Of course the best part of this is seeing our grandchildren there. It was very hot in eastern Washington and we were re-routed on our 6 hour drive there by the complete closing down of the freeway near the Columbia River because there was a raging wild fire burning on both sides of the freeway near Vantage, WA. We saw the charred remains of many fires alongside the freeways on both sides of the mountains and watched yet again fire-fighting being waged on another very big wild fire burning near our home there. ( Just over the mountain ridge.) All is well.

We returned home to parched gardens. A parched lawn, a parched orchard, and a parched pond. In the picture above you can see our small dinghy not floating in the pond. If it were actually in the pond it would be stuck in mud. Our pond is naturally filled with water by underground springs and rain. This is only the second time in all the years we've lived here the water level has been so low, and it is much lower today than when this picture was taken a few days ago.

There is a very big plus for us with the water drying up in the pond. Within the next few days we should be able to walk on the pond bottom without sinking into mud and finally clear out the fallen branches, logs, and debris the winter and early spring storms left behind. We'll also be able to walk across the pond bottom to the island and haul the storm-fall off without needing the dinghy .

The work crew ( husband & 2 grandsons ) cut up and stacked a lot of storm-fall on the island in Cedar Pond needing to be hauled to the fire pit to be burned later on this autumn when the burn bans are lifted. I think we'll make a big deal of this and have s'mores and hot coco by the camp fire. After a spring and summer of record breaking high temps and little rainfall I am looking forward to pouring rains , wearing jackets because I NEED them , mud boots , and a pond full to overflowing.

Clinging to Shade

~Our Front Porch~

It is still too hot for us. We cling to the shade when we are outside, and sit in front of fans while inside. Fortunately our bedroom has a small air conditioner and we are able to get some sleep. I have already spent 2 nights with heat sickness, and am looking forward to more normal temperatures in the upcoming days. Either that or I am moving my work into the air conditioned bedroom.

May your sun-filled days be blessed with shady spots for rest, may your Son-filled life be blessed with spots of reflection on His mercy and love.

Hot Doggies and Hot Days

Record high temperatures for the Pacific Northwest make for hot doggies! Hawk has retreated to the swing by the pond for relief, but at 90 degrees or more, even near the pond, there is not much relief at all. This Vizsla is having a harder time coping with the heat than my 5 Labrador Retrievers. Go figure!

The plants, even heat loving plants, are wilting and shriveling shortly after watering.See these beautiful plants and blooms? While watering them I discovered .....

...this cute little frog hiding in the spear shaped leaves. "Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it." Mark Twain

The pond, though wet, seems hot and humid, and though green, is not the respite from the heat I need. The temperatures around here were higher than anywhere in the U.S. We beat the deserts. Goodness, triple digit temperatures frazzle us North westerners who are very happy picnicking and camping in the rain under tarps and wearing sandals with our rain gear. "What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance." Jane Austen

But Hawk did enjoy the swing by the pond. "As a rule , man is a fool, When it's hot he wants it cool. When it's cool he wants it hot. Always wanting what is not." anonymous