:: Wednesday 18 July 01 ::

Ohh, it's hot. God, it's hot. Very very hot. Debchan, in her most recent entry, has written about the heat far more entertainingly than I could--go read.

What I will say, though, is that living in an extreme climate gives me lots of opportunities to ponder which is more difficult to live with, serious heat or serious cold, and I've decided that while cold holds the edge on sheer physical pain, heat is more constrictive, at least for those of us without air conditioning. My life this week is shaped by the rigors of house management in hot weather, which means adhering to the following schedule:

--Arise at 5, or earlier if possible, and open all doors and windows. (It would be lovely if I could leave windows open all night, but since I live in a ground-floor duplex with huge floor-to-ceiling casements, that's not really an option.) Position all fans according to carefully-determined aerodynamic schema maximizing air flow through house, and turn them to high.

--As soon as the house has cooled enough to make motion bearable, swiftly perform all tasks involving physical activity or heat-generation--washing dishes, vacuuming, cooking. Anything not done now will not get done for another 24 hours.

--Turn on computer and do anything that requires internet access--e-mail, blog, etc. Any errands requiring use of the car must also be done at this point, because the car will be an oven by noon.

--Perform frequent assessments of comparative indoor and outdoor temperatures. As soon as the outdoor temp exceeds indoor, shut all doors and windows tight. Lower all blinds. Turn out all lights. Make sure cat has water and food.

--Pack up laptop and plod down to neighborhood coffeehouse, which has air conditioning, electrical outlets, and decent coffee. Bring earplugs to block out annoying music.

--Write.

--When the sound of one's own prose becomes utterly intolerable and one is ready to fling the laptop through the window, pack up and plod back home. House will be marginally less oppressive than the outside world. Turn on all fans, flop on sofa, swill lemonade and watch TV mindlessly. Reflect that it would have been good to swing by the video store on the way home and pick up a movie, but it's too hot to go back out, and besides anything more intellectually complex than This Old House would be too much effort. (Reading is far too much effort, besides which book covers, like everything else in the house, would be sticky and limp and repulsive to the touch.) Try to force self to eat something with at least minimal nutritive value.

--Continue sporadic indoor/outdoor temp comparison checks. As soon as seems reasonable, reprise the open doors/open windows/position fans drill.

--When exhaustion impends and/or TV becomes terminally intolerable, close up house, move all fans to bedroom, disrobe, spritz self with water spray bottle, flop on bed, set alarm for 5, and try to sleep.

--Repeat until autumn.

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Heat Index / Heat Disorders

130°F or higher: Heatstroke/sunstroke highly likely with continued exposure.

105° - 130°F: Sunstroke, heat cramps or heat exhaustion likely, and heatstroke possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity.

90° - 105°F: Sunstroke, heat cramps and heat exhaustion possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity.

80° - 90°F: Fatigue possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity.

-------------

And, these useful tips from a document fetchingly titled "Managing Breeders in Hot Weather":

Keep flocks trim. Do not overfeed.
Feed birds early in the day. Strive for birds to consume all feed before 8 a.m.
Never allow feed to remain in the trough in the afternoon.
Observe water levels in bell drinkers. Make sure all drinkers are operating correctly.
Increase pressure on nipple lines.

Words we might all live by...

 

"I'd learned on the highway and in the circus, in the army, and at boxing gyms that even if you have a cutman in your corner to stanch the blood, it doesn't obviate the need for stamina, self-reliance, and keeping oriented to what I think of as the earth's magnetic field. You can have allies, mentors, be married, but still you're going to be alone most of your life, and if you're going to run off the rails, you had better be good company for yourself."    
--Edward Hoagland