Monday, June 29, 2015

Sizzle, Sizzle, Drip, Drip (Glow, That Is)








I took this photo Friday in our woods south of the house.  I came upon this little one hunkered down in the grass.  After a quick photo shoot, it got up and ran off. 

None of the photos above do much to reflect the misery we're feeling on this humid morning after a HOT, muggy night. All but one reflect our effort last evening to escape the heat.  

We didn't even have to ask the dogs if they wanted to go for a ride in the air-conditioned pickup.  They had a fan in the garage for the afternoon heat.  We had a fan going in the house, but the thought of a couple of hours of true air conditioning appealed to all five of us.

Bill and I had spent most of the day in the house, sprawled out on couches, watching two Seattle teams lose at baseball and soccer.  We felt sorry for Annie, the faithful Sounders fan, who had driven to Portland for the big rival match.  

Turned out to be a great night for the Timbers.  When the score hit 3-1, we turned off the TV.   

So, we climbed into the truck with the dogs and headed up Pack River----the third time in the past two weeks.  This time we traveled up the road to the trail that leads up to Chimney Rock.  

On one brief but very warm stop, I plucked a branch from a huckleberry bush.  Yup, they're ripe at the end of June.  Avid huckleberriers had better head to the mountains soon before the berries all shrivel up from the heat and month of dry weather ahead.

We also let the dogs out at the bridge on the Chimney Rock trail.  It's nice to see a place, where hundreds of folks have likely visited, left untouched and pristine.  

When we returned to the Lovestead, we knew our two hours of bliss would end dramatically, the instant we stepped out of the pickup.  It did.  The house, even with the fan blowing like mad, felt more like an oven than I can ever remember.

I whipped up a couple of chocolate milkshakes for Bill and me and sat directly in the fan's path. That helped.  

This morning, the ongoing back-and-forth barbs on Facebook regarding last week's Supreme Court rulings have been replaced by lots of photos of time and temperature. 

One person posted an image of 82 degrees around 2 a.m.  Twas 75 at 4:30 a.m. here in Selle.  Add a touch of heavy-duty humidity, and I'm guessing it felt worse than last night's oven experience. 

I did go for a walk after my chores. Twenty, maybe twenty-one drops of rains bounced off my body as a big gust of wind blew in quickly and left just as fast. 

The weather report indicates that if we're gonna get the thunder and lightning scheduled for the day, it needs to come by 9 a.m.  If it doesn't, we may wait until Aug. 2 for the next moisture.  

Ouch!  The devastation from this historic weather pattern has already begun over Wenatchee way with some nasty forest fires.  I have a feeling that's just the beginning. 

So, we'll do what we can to fend off the misery and keep our animals and selves as comfortable as possible. 

I also have a feeling Bill, the dogs and I may see the Pack River on hot, dry summer nights a little more often than usual this year-----at least, we hope to escape there---if the woods stay open. 

Lots of unknowns ahead. 

Happy Monday. 

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