Hot!

[jim]

Dang it's hot. I've been watching the radar. There is a large hi pressure area sitting on the south refusing to move. Sadly for us we are in the center of this and all the rain is doing a ring around the rosey thing that is dumping rain on every side of us and leaving us high and dry. The temps have been in the mid to high 90s. Luckily there is some of a breeze blowing most of the time.
I've decided to let the grass alone. I saw years ago that this kind of weather will kill mowed grass. Right now my whole yard is lush and green. I want it to stay that way.
Thank God that we went ahead with the new ac...

[PinkDiamond]

No kidding, jim. It's hot as blazes here, too, with temps in the low to mid 90's, and it's brutal with the humidity pumping up from the Gulf.

You're right about the lawn, and you don't need to be out there mowing anyway so enjoy that new a/c and just stay cool.

Steve put tubing for a drip system down the apex of the roof line, and has it attached to a timer that turns on the water for 5 minutes every 20 minutes during the day, and he swears it's keeping the attic cooler and the a/c isn't running as much even in this heat. Time will tell if it's effective or not when the next electric bill comes in.

[jim]

Well that staying cool is getting old. And looking at a shaggy yard is tough on me since I like it to be kept neat. I'd much rather be able to do my daily things. Walking outside is like walking into a sauna.

[SwordfishMining]

Those misters do work, but ya get water damage or mineral build up as a rule somewhere. I remember the first tire shop in Joshua tree in the summer i ever felt one. Worked real well for hot vendors on a 110s day. We have one at the Denio Jct too over the front outside tables 12 foot up. Works well for a cool spot unless it's too windy. Last month baked us here and now it cooled off some with rains. They say if it "changes back" these desert lakes all fill up from the monsoon season. I've got a few feet of free board, now I'm gonna have to go look at google earth to see how far I am on the playa versus the slough off the mountain that crosses my property. LOL. The tips of my kitchen spider plants are burned off.

[PinkDiamond]

We don't have a heavy mineral content in the water, and it's spring water from inside the mountain behind us that filters thru the limestone rock, but it's not enough to cause much buildup, thankfully, and no chemicals or fluoride. And it's more of a drip line than a mister, although it does produce some mist since Steve made it himself and some of the cuts face upward instead of down. Theoretically it could work, but in the blazing sun I have to wonder if the small amount over such a short period of time is actually magnifying the sun, since they tell you not to water your plants in direct sunlight because it acts like a magnifying glass and can burn the foliage, so I'm still not convinced, although I'm hoping it works and we see a dip in the electric bill.

When I have to work outside I do take the hose with me and cool off by misting myself periodically. It's the only way to work in oppressive heat comfortably, and I always worry about road workers and roofers when it's this bad. They just did a thing on the news about how hot the concrete gets and that pets' paws can be burned by it very quickly. Most people never even think about that, but it can be serious enough for the critter to require veterinary care.

[jim]

I've been experiencing a problem with my truck. My ac would only blow cold on the passenger side. It blew super hot on the driver side no matter how it was set. I researched it online and it seems the air mix actuator has gone awry. It opens and closes a door in the ductwork that lets hot air into the system. I removed the thing and manually turned the shaft to block off the hot air.
Now I have icy cold air blowing on me. The only problem is the heater won't work until I install a new unit. With the temps were having right now I don't feel a big rush to fix it. I was driving yesterday. The thermometer in the truck was reading 100 degrees. You could imagine what I was feeling with full heat going. Well I fixed that!!!
The temps here are still in the mid to upper 90s. The last rain we had was 12 days ago. My yard has quit growing...

[jim]

Still in the upper 90s. No rain.

[SwordfishMining]

My Subaru did the same thing with the vent last time to town. Anyway but out the vents. Still works thankfully. My yard of alphalfa and tumbleweeds is growing gangbusters and the rabbits can't keep up with it. Need to wander around with a pitchfork each time it rains. They do pull up easy enough.

[Rockranger]

Its been a friggen weather roller coaster ride for us. The drought lasted up until last week when the rains finally came. As I mentioned to you in another post the fire's, grasshoppers and hail storms took it all, now there is nothing left in most fields. 3 tornados in calgary earlier this week with hail the night before punching holes threw vehicle windows. The look on the fields after it was done made it seem like we were in the middle of winter with the white stuff engulfing everything on the ground. Starting to see nights dropping down to the 40s and have seen temps as low as 0 this week at night, just a little farther NW of me. My plants are still flowering and fruit bearing trees are slim for pickins this year. I am not ready for fall so soon.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/07/22 ... 51500.html

[PinkDiamond]

Whoa! That was scary!! I can't believe it's been that cold at night already, and hope that it's not the end of summer for you already.

It's still brutally hot and humid here, although probably a few degrees cooler that what jim is having to deal with. I figure he's got until maybe early November before he really needs heat in the truck, and if push comes to shove he can probably make the heat work manually like he did the a/c. Nice going, jim!