As I heard my husband get up this morning, the first words out of my mouth were “Is it over yet?”
There are not many nights that you can’t sleep in Maine. Last night was one of them. We don’t have air conditioning, because most of the time fans are all you really need. But last night despite open windows, an overhead fan and tossed blankets, there was no escape from the heat. It had only cooled down to the 80’s overnight. And it was muggy. The day had been miserable, the night was miserabler.
Last evening, we drove down to the ocean. A few others had parked their cars and joined us at Bailey Island to get some relief from the heat. You can usually count on it being 5 to 10 degrees cooler right on the ocean with a salty, seaweed breeze. We sat and listened to the gulls and waves. We watched people dipping their feet into the water and combing the beach for rocks and bits of glass. The boats faced into the incoming tide, and the gulls, like stringless kites, hovered overhead. I did not want to abandon all this for what I knew awaited us on our return home.
On the drive home we were excited to see that the leaves were turning inside out. That usually means rain. A nice rain usually cools everything down. It’s kind of like a reset. It may get hot the next day, but it won’t have the humidity. But the expected storm didn’t happen.
It stayed humid and hot all night long. I know because I was awake for most of it. I got up once to splash cold water on my face, neck and arms. Crawling back into bed, the fan helped cool my skin enough to get to sleep for a bit. However, I spent most of the night flipping from one side to the other, flopping arms and legs over the side of the bed and hoping for the miracle of a cooler spot.
And now it is getting hotter as we get through the morning. It was 84 when I got up. Our helpful thermometer that shows us how to dress each day says today is the day to wear your bikini. Fortunately, I don't remember where I put mine.
It is 98 now and it isn't noon yet...hm. How long will I stay here without AC?
I know first hand of this heat and humidity--and in Iowa, AC is a must! We received a brief reprieve yesterday from both. It was wonderful. Today the humidity is increasing and tomorrow the heat returns.
ReplyDeleteI love how you described the ocean--and the sight of the leaves turning inside out. Keep cool!
Well, we're from all over the US, & we, too are so very hot. We don't have air conditioning either & this week, we've had a friend staying with us from Boston. Alas, it hasn't cooled, but our nights are better than you describe, some reprieve. I wish you well. I just go outside & pretend to water the flowers while hosing off myself. I liked the gulls, those 'stringless kites' very much.
ReplyDelete@teacherdance
ReplyDelete100 degrees now. We've been camping out in the public library, but it's closing for the night at 5 pm. So we'll be out and about to look for more AC and WiFi! Could be a Starbucks kinda evening. Stay cool everyone! We'll be taking the dog out for ice cream later tonight!
Ha-we spent the morning with friends having brunch (really moved into late lunch too), but now are home, considering what to do, but ice cream is going to be on the agenda too. We didn't reach 100-but close. A friend in NYC posted it was 105 there. Whew!
ReplyDeleteYour thermometer cracks me up!
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