Oh Hades!

Hot

I am so Hot

And I ain't talking about how I look in my Rosie's Coveralls which you could not pay me a $100 to put on right now (But yes, I would do it for $200)

Several days now of middle of July heat with no breezes, no rain and no real relief in sight. When we bought our farm 18 years ago we opted not to install central air. Why? We'd be outside most of the time anyway we rationalized.

And we are, until the waves of heat drive us inside for some relief. And then back outside when the inside temps are higher than the outside temps.

The GKs are with us in one of their 3 day runs and they are coping pretty well. Healthy hearts and smaller body masses are helpful. The local pool would help more but they are closed due to some kinda pump problems, which is code for someone depositing human error in the water.

 

 

So we cope with frequent showers, a sprinkler in the shade, lots of water and one window unit AC which we all gather around every night in a pagan ritual. As long as we all get a good nights sleep we're able to get by.

As a child we had just one fan in our old farm house. At night we'd all sleep perpendicular to the fan with the youngest closet to the fan protected by the man eating blades by one of the adults or older kids. After the babies fell asleep the older kids would work their way up closer to the fan eventually pushing each of the younger siblings father and father away from the tropical breezes. by morning the babies were relocated to the far end of the room.

Might be why each and everyone of my four siblings and myself still sleep with a fan even in the dead of winter. Just one of the many 'quirks" an O'Shaughnessy spouse must tolerate.

Miss Debbie our senior Red Wattle Sow, about a week away
from farrowing, staying cool.
 

Our farm animals are also coping with the help of the Midlife Farmwife and her amazing husband. hogs have water holes that are refilled often. Calves are relocated into the barn and areas of shade. Duckings get mini-pools built for them. Pregnant sows are moved to bigger houses with more shade in the event the heat brings them into early labor.




Baby Red Wattles at 7 weeks, have no problem taking
 a bath in their drinking water

33 years ago this July I was grossly pregnant with my first child. ( A 9 pounder!) It was 110 degrees in the shade in those Black Hills of South Dakota. I spent large portions of my day soaking in a tub full of cool water with a fan blowing on me, all beached whale like.

To this day that child has trouble with cold hands and feet all times of the year.