The hot and dry weather continues. Writing this around 6 pm on Thursday, and it's still 28'C (82'F) outdoors (and 25/77 indoors). My legs are telling me they wouldn't mind going for an evening stroll, but my head is saying no. We tried that yesterday but even though keeping in the shadow as much as possible, it still just felt too hot! At the moment it's not until after sunset (around 10 pm) that the outdoors temperature drops below that indoors - and that, for other reasons, feels too late for me to be out and about.
The azaleas have dropped almost every flower now, and the rhododendrons are about to give up now too.
There are millions of elm seeds covering the cemetery right now. We'd be wading in them if not for churchyard workers/gardeners doing their best to keep things neat... (I took the photo of this heap because it's shaped almost like a heart!)
So I'm still in that dilemma that I think I've already sighed about before: Everything just now is best done in the early morning - and that includes sleep...
There are still daily reports of fires from the countryside and forests around our town - and buildings too. The other day, there was one just a couple of streets away from where I live. It seems the damage there was limited to just one flat though (and I don't know the cause).
As for the big fire in the city centre on Friday last week, the whole top floor of that building with twelve flats got totally destroyed, and even shops on the ground floor are still closed. I haven't been down to the city centre myself since it happened, I've just seen photos and read about it in the local newspaper.
All in all I haven't done much this week. On Monday I think I managed an afternoon stroll around the cemetery. (I must have, because I seem to have photos to prove it.) On Tuesday morning (well, before noon anyway), I walked to the supermarket for a few things. I forgot to bring a bottle of tap water with me (which I try always to remember when I go out in hot summer weather). So I bought a bottle at the store. Tried to open that on the way home - but could not manage to get it open! Now I've added a piece of anti-slip (rubber) material to the necessities to carry with me in my handbag... ;)
Yesterday was my weekly laundry day, and even with both the tumble drier and the drying cabinet going in the basement laundry room, that felt cooler than upstairs, so I did not mind! I also took the opportunity to wash my duvet, as at the moment I don't use it anyway - just an empty cover... (Washing and tumble-drying it went well though. So it's ready for use when I need it again...)
Today's only adventure was a short stroll to the recycling bins and the nearest small convenience shop in the late morning. Like 7-8 min away but I still found myself criss-crossing to keep in the shadow as far as possible.
The next few days seem likely to continue in a similar pattern: My main job still being to try and keep both myself and my flat as cool as possible...
Feeling your pain, we are the same hot and dry and it just drains me. I don't even want to go drive to the vets office to pick up Beaus meds. everything becomes a chore in heat. I stay in the AC and you don't have that. this morning at 3;30 it was 28, and it goes up to 34 and stays until 10 and slow drops to 28 and we start over. the no rain makes it worse, also causing fires. I can't imagine sleeping with out ac in the heat you are having. well i can imagine, I did it my whole life until i moved to FL, I was 40 years old before we got AC
ReplyDeleteSandra, with your climate being even hotter, I imagine the AC is a real blessing. I have a new appliance in my bedroom since a few weeks though, it's not AC but it is an air purifier (a fan with a filter), which within a few days lessened my night/morning asthma problems. It's also got a very silent night mode, hardly audible at all. So in the bedroom a big improvement compared to a regular fan.
DeleteLooks like you need some rain there, we've got the opposite - cold sunny dry winter.
ReplyDeleteAmy, comments from "down under" are always a reminder that we live on a spinning globe... ;-)
DeleteWhat a beautiful leafy haven that tree is with the sweet little bird house. Stay cool my friend. How hot did it get at the hottest? It is hard even impossible to sleep when it is too hot at night. That is shocking news about the fire downtown and the apartments destroyed. Have a lovely cooler time. Maybe time for a movie in an air conditioned theater?
ReplyDeleteTerra, we haven't broken any heat records yet, it's more the fact that the heat has been unusually long-lasting, especially for this early in the summer. At most 29'C in the shadow this week I think - but all the hotter in the sun of course. My balcony, facing south-west,turns into an oven in the afternoons, with the thermometer showing temps up to 38-39'C. So then I just keep the door closed, blinds down, curtains drawn... And don't open up again until late in the evening, when I go out to water my plants! (Mornings are still cooler though, so from early morning until noon, if I'm home and it's quiet, I keep the door open to let in fresh air.)
DeleteAs for our movie theater in town (only one) I doubt it even has AC. Haven't been there in decades, though. I really prefer now to watch films at home, being able to pause as I please when various aching body parts declare need of variation...
Since that thunderstorm with some rain (not much in my area) on the 8th of June, there has not been another drop of rain here. Fields and meadows begin to look yellow and brown, and on dirt tracks, dust settles only slowly after a car has passed.
ReplyDeleteYour fires are scary. I enjoy the long daylight hours, enabling me to go for good after-work walks, but I see the dry soil and hope we'll have some rain soon.
This week, our temperatures have not been all that high; maybe 27C at most, and it has been cooling down well over night, so that it is easy to keep my bedroom pleasantly cool - for now.
Meike, for me 27 is still too high for long walks, I notice I get exhausted much faster in hot weather. Thankful to have that old cemetery with the big trees only a few minutes from home, though!
DeleteWe had some much-needed rain the other day, but apart from that your weather reports seem to mirror mine down here. You really are experiencing Mediterranean sunshine and temperatures, and unfortunately the threat of wild fires that come with prolonged drought.
ReplyDeleteThese days I'm up early to walk the dog before it becomes too unpleasantly hot. Like you, I've found that it's dark by the time it's comfortable enough to take her out in the evening, so we're just making do with a longer morning walk.
The outdoor thermometer registered around 40º in full sun late yesterday afternoon!
Happily the Bougainvillea, Hibiscus and my lovely pink Passiflora are all thriving in the heat, and I don't think the Agaves have even noticed it's hotter and drier that ever.
Carol, I only wish we also had the Mediterranean itself to go with the climate! ;-) (noticing the water level in the river sinking...)
DeleteThe hot weather is causing many blooms to drop prematurely.
ReplyDeleteI feel sad for the people displaced and the inconvenience caused by the fire. That's a lot for what was probably a single small incident originally.
You are fortunate having the cemetery so close. I wish the Castle Grounds were nearer to me or at least some woods. Not because of the shade from the heat but protection from the wind which is so prevalent here.
Graham, as lovely as your sea views are, I'm sure I'd really miss not having more trees around.
Delete