Hope you're staying safe and finding ways to beat the heat. The hot weather has me thinking about what we did during the hot summers when I was growing up. The only air conditioner we had in the house was a window unit in my parent's bedroom, and it was only run at night for them to sleep. I can remember days in front of the fan and visiting the few stores in town that had AC for some relief. The favorite was the Factory Outlet, which was the outlet for the local sweater factory. Always a bargain to be had there, but you had to inspect the merchandise carefully to see if you could live with the defect.
The movie theater was also air conditioned, so a movie was a real treat for several reasons in the summer. They only played B movies and I saw a lot of old Disney and Elvis Presley movies there. It cost a quarter for kids at that point in time, so all four of us could go for only a dollar. We lived in town, and were able to walk to all of these places. That way we didn't have to depend on our parents for a ride. That gave us more flexibility which we appreciated.
We also went swimming at the city pool. My father would do electrical work for them at the beginning of the season which would earn us a season pass. The pool was a mixed blessing. This was back in the days before sunscreen, so we four, fair-skinned sisters, had more sunburns than we liked. And when we got one, we had to wear a T-shirt over our swimsuits until it healed. I didn't like the T-shirts, but those were the rules. Also, my mother would give us 2 hours from the time we left home until we got back. It was a 15 minute walk each way, so that gave us an hour and a half there. Not nearly as much time as the popular kids got, but was probably smart considering the sun. And, of course, we went no where if our work list wasn't completed.
Back to the here and now. Most, if not all places, I go have AC, including our house. I am very thankful for that. To beat the heat, I've been working in the yard during the early morning and late evening when it's not quite so hot. Despite the hot weather, there are still things thriving and here are a few of them.
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| Day lily |
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| Bachelor buttons |
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| Marigold |
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| House wrens just before they fledged. The nest was crowed with 7 in there. The nest wasn't empty for long. As of yesterday, there were 3 more eggs in it. |
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| Dianthus |
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| Day lily |
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| Cloudy sunset |
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| Rising full moon |
The heat sure has been crazy just about everywhere it seems. Of course it's typical weather for us here in Florida at this time of year. I feel horrible for those suffering in the heat without air conditioning! We didn't have air conditioning when I was a kid either, but luckily we had our own pool to stay nice and cool. I remember how hard it was to sleep in that heat and remember turning my pillow over to the cool side over and over all night long. Gorgeous sky shots!
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about turning the pillow over. :)
DeleteYour flowers are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the list of people without AC while growing up. I remember sharing a room with my sister. We had an oscillating fan and I couldn't wait for it to turn my way and blow on me. My cousins had access to the swimming area at the local lake so we would go there to swim. Sometimes we went to a movie but that was rare. When I was a teenager we got AC in the family room. We would hang out there much of the day and I was motivated to put up a card table and folding chairs so we could eat dinner where it was cool.
We installed a central air conditioning unit shortly after we moved in. It's not a given that homes in Michigan have air conditioning. I don't take it for granted!
I think there's a special bonding that goes on when everyone is gathered in the same place to beat the heat. Michigan is generally not as hot as the south, but it does get hot sometimes. I know you appreciate that you have AC then!
DeleteHumidity is the miserable aspect to Michigan's summer weather. We have vacationed out west for several summers now and I find that I can tolerate the heat better in a drier climate.
DeleteI think all of us can tolerate heat in a drier climate. How's the saying go, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." However, even when it's drier, when it gets over 100, I'm hot!
DeleteYour garden flowers are looking great! And those baby birds! Wow! That's a crowded nest!
ReplyDeleteYou can add me to the list of people who grew up without AC...and who continues to live without central AC! LOL! The window unit hasn't been put up yet - not hot enough! It was only 93F today. I have ceiling fans in the family room and the bedrooms, plus a couple of stand fans that can be moved around (one is almost permanently in the living room), plus a table fan on the counter in the kitchen. I'll probably ask M to put up the window unit for me towards the end of July or early August (September is usually our hottest month).
Seven is not unheard of for a wren, but it's on the high side. I wonder how many eggs she will lay this time?
DeleteYou definitely tolerate heat better than most people I know. It may be that you body learned to adapt better when you were growing up in Sri Lanka.
That is one crowded nest. I love Day Lilies. I can't remember when I first learned something existed like AC. We didn't have it growing up nor did we need it. Grew up on Oregon coast.
ReplyDeleteDay lilies are very pretty. The only thing I don't like is that when it gets hotter, all of the leaves turn brown which is not so attractive.
DeleteYou may not have needed AC when you were growing up on the Oregon coast but you have certainly needed it this week!