“Summertime is always the best of what might be.” ~ Charles Bowden
♥
Today, it hit 100 degrees on the back porch. No prob! We just set the thermostats down a couple of degrees from usual so as not to put too much strain on the electrical grid. There are plenty of people who need A/C more than we do; let them have it.
To those of us who spend much of our time in the heat of outdoors anyway, 83 degrees indoors is cool-a-plenty. Anything in the 70’s just downright chilly; we always have our jackets handy.
Ceiling fans keep things circulated during the day; they consume far less power than A/C units. The house cools off quickly once the sun goes down, around 9:00p on a work night (when John has to go off to camp in the morning, and us with him) it’s time for bed anyways. This method of cooling keeps our electric usage to around $250 in summer, when all our neighbors are at least double that.
Seems like such an easy thing to do, much like eating ice cream made from coconut milk rather than from dairy.
Then there’s this thing called lack of rain. We’ve been here before and didn’t like it then, but with El Niño, this may very well be the new norm for Gulf Coast cities.
We aren’t on city water. We draw ours with a pump from an aquifer 250 feet down, and as long as it holds level, we should be fine. However, it appears our neighbors — whose sprinklers appear to still be on automatic with no forecast of rain — haven’t gotten the memo. If they don’t get on board with voluntary conservation soon, we may all wind up digging a little deeper for our water. I sure hope that doesn’t happen.
Meanwhile, we are always on the hunt to find some joy for our hot summer days within our ‘bubble.’
♥
Good morning, Moon!
My favorite hummingbird look-out.
They are beginning to ‘feeder-guard’ in numbers.
Cicadas calling is a signature summer sound!
This one molted indoors for us to watch up close.
Crepe myrtles in the bunny habitat outdoors
don’t mind the heat.
We spotted this beauty (watching for squirrels)
on our street while riding bikes.
He appears to have moved into the hood.
♥
Have you noticed anything changing
in your area? Habitat loss? Climate change?
DirtNKids Blog 
I think I’d just sweat myself away in those temperatures Shannon. But it sounds like you have it under control. And a bobcat! How cool is that?
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I’m sure 80’s to you is warm enough. It’s really not that bad, once you get used to it. The hard part is always sleeping in it, and — to that end — there’s A/C. Happy, happy.
Yes!! A bob cat, 10 feet from me on my street and unawares, probably because I was on a bike. He looked good, thriving. It’s my second one of the year which is decidedly weird.
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Shannon! Forgive my ignorance but is that a bobcat?! (eyes bulging, forehead sweaty in anticipation)
Sadly my neighbourhood’s ecosystem has shown signs of imbalance. Even resilient creatures such as palm striped squirrels and sparrow hawks are scavenging for food in illegal garbage dumping sites. Plus, some of the residential birds like mynas and crows are chasing away the migratory ones from roosting in peace as well. Behavioural changes such as these can’t be good.
Great post as always.
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It is indeed…a healthy bobcat! It’s our second sighting this year. These are elusive, solitary creatures who actively avoid human contact, so THIS. Can’t. Be. Good.
It’s everywhere, Christy. We have inextricably altered the landscape, and it appears (here) to be ramping up rather than winding down.
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Your rain dance worked! We got a few sprinkles, but mostly lots and LOTS of lightening. Keep it up…
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It got “HOT” today with a high of 75 lol (I’m in Southern California). I HAVE noticed that it’s been much more humid recently. Probably a result of El Niño. I’m hoping we get some more rain out here as well! Our local governments keep releasing statements saying, “your water may look, taste, and smell funny but we promise it’s mostly safe to drink..” Eek! 🙂 Your photos are beautiful!
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Hi, Cheyanne. You are cooling me off with your 75 degrees! Thanks for coming by to say so.
That is NOT good to hear about your water. Here, I understand the municipality (to curtail aquifer pumping) is mixing river water (from our milky-brown Brazos) with surface water. It’s treated, of course, but YUK!!
Aquifer is the way to go for drinking water, but certainly NOT for lawns. People need to wake up.
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