The Pups and I are sitting out here, Beau now has his own chair for which he seems quite grateful, enjoying the beauty of the world waking up. Hubs was with us for a bit, but he has an early start today. We put Beau's chair beside mom and under the bird feeder. He loves watching the birds and will literally do it for hours and well, he is fairly sure that he and I might share body parts as he must be within a few feet of me the majority of the day. Sweet Belle is far more independent and roams the house and the yard like the free spirit that she is.
Shortly, I will offer them a ride and we will head to one of the parks for a nice long walk. They love walks, but walking them in the actual neighborhood j
ust became far too stressful and unpleasant for all of us. I am trying to decide between the river walk or the park up the street. I want to go where it is the least crowded. They are amazing on leashes and easy to control, I ask them to sit when someone approaches and they will stop and sit right by my side, it's just not enjoyable to constantly ask them to sit and while we like to be respectful of others space too many folks simply walk up on them and expect them to not be near them. Again, far too stressful.
Yesterday, while running my errands in Illinois I took the babies to the park that Hubs and I frequented way back in the day when we lived not far from it. I started to walk the lower ring, but knowing that there are large sections of it that are not visible I didn't feel incredibly safe doing so. We used to take the boys there all the time, but it was a different time then, that area was far safer than it is today. So we tackled the hill walk instead. That entire route is wide open and you can see for miles. In fact if you've read my blog for any length of time you've seen many sunrises and sunsets from the top of that hill.
It was their first visit there and they loved it, the wide open expanse gave them room to move and new smells to smell. It was a bit of a walk down memory lane and my heart felt like the boys were walking right along side us. That huge hill has many memories attached to it. It's where I took my little puppy Fred sledding almost 20 years ago. It's where Hubs and I rode our bikes so many early mornings before that area starting growing and expanding. One of the twins steered her and I straight into the only tree on the hill while sledding. And I managed to break my wrist the Christmas I got my spinning wheel. Somewhere my daughter probably still has the video of me going airborne, we still went sledding (I didn't realize it was broken), but my grand baby wanted to sled and I wasn't going to say no. Just packed that mitten with snow and away we went. Hindsight being 20/20 - boy was that dumb, it swelled so much I almost couldn't remove the mitten before we finally went to get it looked at.
Isn't it odd how memories are? I don't have a great memory most of the time. I easily struggle to remember most events. And then I'm in a place or a picture pops up and boom... it's perfectly clear. I wonder if most folks are like that?
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| a bit confusing... |
I was glancing at Twitter this morning, it humors me a bit the insanity that bounces around. Yet a couple of pictures caught my eye. They were weather maps from England, as they are having such brutal heat, one is several years old the other was from yesterday. When enlarged the temperatures were within a few degrees of each other, some higher, some lower. The only difference in the map is one was normal colored with sweet little suns sprinkled about, the other was all red and orange with angry looking the color of violent flame all around the country. Yet the temperatures were the same.
I found that to be a startling image. So much that I was chatting with my friend about it. I've noticed that all of the weather folks are beating the drum about the extreme heat that we are being blanketed with, the unusual weather patterns and how there isn't going to be enough energy to be able to cool homes, do laundry, etc., and of course I understand that for some areas it is higher heat than in the past. But what has changed?
My Facebook memories pop up all the time showing temperatures above 100° at least a couple times a week. Going back as long as I have had the account. I remember moving here the first time almost 38 years ago. I arrived in July, and I hated it! It was unbearably hot and miserable. I swore I would never live here again in my life... we all see how that turned out.
And this morning lying in bed in the early light a bit warm because well, it's summer, remembering the years in Germany without air conditioning and how absolutely miserable summers could be. Waking up drenched in sweat, even with box fans with damp clothes hanging over them were in the windows. The long miserable nights with almost no sleep, the plan to go to post office and grocery store during the day because they both had air conditioning and it wasn't as miserable. I spent many summers with my sisters and later my kiddos at pools and water parks in Germany trying desperately to stay cool. Many ice creams were eaten, much water was splashed.
This heat isn't really any different than it's always been. It's summer. Yet the media and governments repeatedly tell us how brutal it is. How we should all be melting and miserable. Is this to justify the huge leaps in utility costs? To force us to do something, that will benefit them?
Sorry, I've had many "discussions" with my sweet son in regards to "global warming", "climate change", or whatever the phrase of the year is. I don't buy any of it. Look at pictures of beaches from the turn of last century vs today... the only time there is any change is where mankind has intervened to make the change. If the sea levels were truly rising, there would not be a billion dollar or better industry built around ocean front properties and mansions. There would be absolutely no building or homes within miles of any beach in the world. It's harder to find a public beach than it is to find a privately owned one. So... sorry... not buying the storyline.
And if you look at the larger historical picture, I should never have been allowed to actually take geology classes in college - FYI, you will see that the weather cycles are the same as they have always been. We just haven't always had non-stop voices telling us how bad and miserable it is and how we should be in fear for our lives.
I know a strange tangent to wander into today. I guess all of the things that have popping up really got me thinking. My friend works primarily outdoors every summer, for at least six weeks she is in the elements. Her statement to me, was that it doesn't really feel any different from any other year.
Now have I made changes to my home based on some of the fear mongering? Of course. But it was also based on the fact that I was actually in my home during the summer last year. I knew what areas of my home did not cool well and where improvements could be made. Those improvements have allowed me to remain very comfortable and raise the temperature setting in my home significantly.
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| taking a break from the midday heat |
I am also able to dress accordingly for the season. In the summer, I wear shorts and t-shirts or maybe a sundress depending on my plans for the day. In the past, I needed to wear business clothing, definitely not cool and comfy. In the winter I put on heavy sweaters and jeans with my nice hand knit socks. I stay toasty at a lower setting.
Again these are my choices. When I heard that landlords in Germany will be limiting home temps to 62° this winter, I cringed. I spent a large part of my life there, those folks better be investing in some heavy sweaters, socks and blankets. It's gonna be cold. But from what I've read there will be warming centers. Seriously?
We need to be paying attention to what is happening in other countries and all around us. Because the truth of the matter is it won't take much for that to be what they try to force here. Like I've said before since I eliminated my "smart" thermostat, I am able to maintain a consistent temperature and lower my bill. I never gave the electric company permission to adjust my thermostat, but it was constantly being adjusted. Something to think about.
It's time to enjoy the rest of my beautiful morning out here in the early morning sunshine, feed my pups and got for a nice walk before this summer day turns into... well a summer day... Please remember for the most part these are normal everyday temperatures... except for my friends that are in the deep south/southwest and I think that is a far different issue than we are being led to believe...
love and peace...
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