Wednesday.... HOT Wednesday

Just in case some of you might have thought I was Pulling Your Leg about our Heat here in Lake Havasu, Arizona ...I bopped out last evening around 7:00 PM and took a picture of our Thermometer right outside our back door ... Yes...you are reading that correctly...it says 115.... now remember this is 7:00 PM...in the shade ,close to our cooler back door.... just imagine for a moment what it is like out in the sun away from shade.... GULP!!

OK...I will give you a moment or so to recover and regain composure ... It is a bit of a shock to the system when first is heard the words...."115 in the shade".... the body goes into an immediate spasm and it takes a few to shake it off...run outside and kiss whatever cool ground your neck of the woods lies in.... Yes, this is Summer in the Arizona Desert.

We have been having a exceptionally hot one this year... started slow but hit us right between the eyes when our backs were turned with thoughts of "Oh it's gonna be cooler this year"...HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH......rehydrate.....HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH..... rehydrate.......HAHAHAHAHAHA.
To open the front door to retrieve mail in the Havasu Heat... is like opening the oven door during Auto Cleaning (you know, the temp that turns all the baked on gookie stuff in your oven to 'Ash'....)...and then standing there for 10 minutes just taking it all in....

It is watching little Quail Families run faster than a speeding bullet across the blacktop street, seeing birdies hanging out in droves in your front pond...standing waist deep (do birds have waists??) beaks wide open panting with wings out stretched to their sides alllll day long....

Hanging wet towels on the outside line and having them half way dry before reaching the line...totally dry by the time you reach the back door...and turning around to retrieve them...

Carrying no less than 3 bottles of water with you at any one time in a small personal ice bag when you go anywhere..

And last but not least... being witness to some of the most gawd awful summer outfits you have ever seen in your life.... what people will 'or won't' wear to keep cool...BE AFRAID...BE VERY AFRAID!!!
Neighbors don't gather during these months ...there is only a weak wave of exhaustion exchanged as garbage cans are dragged to the curb.... few children play outside ...well ya gotta admit, not much fun playing ball with other neighbor kids while your mom is frantically running along side making you drink gallons of Gator aide and placing wet towels around your neck... puts a real crimp in the whole free to be a kid thing...

This is the time of year you sit or float in water, get all outside chores done before 6:00 am, visit the Movies a lot.... spend looooong luxurious hours strolling the isles of Walmart, carry an ice chest everywhere you go, and play lots of 'indoor' board games with friends and family.

I know I made Arizona (Havasu to be exact) sound like a suburb of Hell... and in truth, it really is not. I will say that it is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach in the summer time...a good reason I guess that all our 'Snow Birds' fly back to their cooler regions...only to return in early fall...AHHHHHH Early Fall...a LOVELY time of the year ...and a time we all wait for with great anticipation of cooler more enjoyable times. There are few places more lovely than the desert in fall, winter and spring.... temps that are mild and sooo pleasant, breezes that bring scents of orange blossoms and Texas Laurel , no frost, no snow, just pleasant all around weather....the kind of weather you can plan outdoor activities ...with few surprises.

I wait for this time as do all Havasuvians ...watching the calender, for the Birds Beaks to close.... and the blast furnace to feel luke warm when the door is open...all the true signs that the relief of fall is not far behind...

Jodi aka 'Hot Headed Hannah'