Obviously we're not the only ones in the country dealing with hot weather.
But I am officially declaring July 2012 as Too Hot For Pants.
We're still hitting the river about every other day. Lazlo is getting better at holding his breath and dredging rocks from the bottom, but for some reason he tries to chew on them so we're discussing what's appropriate behavior with rocks.
We found a tennis ball at the beach last week so I attempted to lure Mia out deeper in the river with it and it worked. Swimming is not her favorite activity, she'd rather scour the beach for treasures, but she is able to make a few doggy paddle strokes when I take her out and throw the ball back to the shore.
Pretty impressive for a dog that survived Hurricane Katrina. We're taking it slow, though.
My potted veggies are growing well, though it still seems unlikely they'll get big enough to produce fruit.
Mr. Stone Pine has some volunteer clover growing in the pot.
I have a single corn plant growing (among the bindweed) on the side of the house. Assuming that an unsterilized corn kernel from the bird feeder is the source. It's not going to produce anything since corn needs to be pollinated by other corn plants, but I don't really have the heart to pull it up. Found some sunflowers starting to sprout in my potted veggies, too. Someone at the bird seed factory was napping when this bag went through.
My parents convinced me to buy an air conditioner for the tiny house. I was so reluctant (for four years now) for obvious reasons but with Keith being gone and the dogs spending most of Mon.-Wed. inside while I'm at work, there was no other solution. I didn't feel comfortable putting them in the dog pen during this kind of heat.
So we have an air conditioner now. Other than using more electricity, the biggest con is that it's in the window above the bed and so in the evenings when I turn off the A/C I don't get a breeze through that window. It's cut down on the air flow considerably and the house tends to stay hotter in the evenings.
Take the lack of air flow and throw in the sultry, oppressive weather and it's most definitely Too Hot For Pants.
Keith is on his way to fire camp - finally, after being in Montana over a month. They've been driving back and forth between the co. HQ in Billings and the site of the contract starting point, Cody, Wyo. knowing something would happen soon. And now it finally is.
The temps are rising and even though we now have a little air conditioner for the tiny house (a lifesaver, thanks to my parents) we try to hit the river about every other day to cool off. It's very crowded this time of year but the river has been dropping rapidly and now we can walk downriver to the rock beach and have some space.
I think Lazlo is part Lab as much as he likes swimming. Just saying "swimmin" gets him all worked up. We get to the river and all he does is swim and dig for rocks. Not sure how he got onto the rock digging, but Mia has been watching him and decided she can do it, too - in a little shallower water.
I tried coaxing her out deeper, but she was not at all on board with that. She needs to be touching the bottom at all times. Though she will stick her face underwater, so whatever.
I can only be out in the sun for about an hour at a time without feeling like I'm frying (even with SPF55) and every time I tell Lazlo it's time to go home it breaks his little doggy heart. I think he would live in the water - except there are no blankets to crawl under at night there.
A friend from the farming class we took a few years ago brought me some plant starts - eggplant, tomato, peppers. They're tiny little things, so I don't know if I will reap any rewards, but hey I'll give it a try.
The lilies I dug up at the librarian's house are finally blooming - all yellow.
The dogs and I have been visiting the river about every other day. Walking home the other night I inhaled a small village of bugs that were swarming in the last sunlight of the day.
I love watching how the river changes. The level rises and falls throughout the year, but it also makes certain paths through the rocks and sand. At this one point in particular it seems to flow backwards for just a bit. Hard to capture in photograph, but mesmerizing to watch.
