The weather forecast predicts cooler weather on the way by the weekend! This morning, despite fans bringing the cooler air into the house, we were unable to lower the internal temperature below 80. The longer a heat wave lasts, the less effective are our strategies to keep the house cool. Although I had a good night’s sleep, with a fan blowing on me all night, Attila did not. I am putting pressure on Attila to install the window air conditioner in the bedroom. A good night’s sleep is essential to weathering through a heat wave!
The last bit of the deck was stained last night, so the first coat has been completed. The second coat will go on while I am away, when I next visit the little house in the city to work on the bathroom there. Hopefully this penetrating stain will last through a winter of snow removal!
Today, since I will once again be sitting quietly, avoiding overheating in this hot muggy weather, time will be spent researching flooring options for the bathroom at the little house in the city. The Restore in that area had a variety of small lot commercial grade linoleum for sale, a year ago. It will be worth a visit to the Restore to see what is in stock this year. The amount of flooring needed for such a small space means that end-of-line and small lot stock will work well. Discounted and discontinued lines of expensive flooring are definitely something to consider.
The window frames at the country house, in the bedroom and the bathroom, have some kind of animal scat on them. It is hard to identify. Larger than mouse droppings, similar shape, but slightly larger, and the shape is not uniform as it is with mouse droppings. The screens are hard to get out, well almost impossible to get out, so removing the scat is difficult. I have sterilized the scat, by spraying it with aqueous oxygen, so that no airborne problems should arise.
Mist and I are barely functioning. A humidex of 41 is just a little too intense for some of us. I have slowed down considerably, my breathing is normal, I am sweating, I am drinking copious amounts of water and I have stopped moving. It is too hot to eat, I couldn’t even consider food in this heat. Dear Mist and I are languishing in the screened in porch. There is shade and a breeze. But the breeze only blows above the level of chairs, as there are closed in walls on the lower half of the screened in porch. I have to raise my arms to feel the breeze, anywhere but my head. Mist seems to find it acceptable out here, she is having a siesta, lying right beside the dish of water I brought out here for her.
The temperature might be more reasonable tomorrow, a high of 28C is predicted, with a humidex of 37C, which will be more bearable than today. Thank goodness for that!
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Attila tells me that there is an unknown species of tiny birds building nests under the eaves of the back shed, nests made out of mud. I wonder if the droppings are from these birds. It is a mystery.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT
31°C
Condition: Partly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.2 kPa
Tendency: falling
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 26.5°C
Dewpoint: 24.2°C
Humidity: 87%
Wind: S 17 km/h
Humidex: 41
In the house at 12:15 p.m.
Temperature 28C
Humidity 83%
Humidex 40C
Quote
“To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold.”
Archibald MacLeish
1892 – 1982
(Early “spaceship earth” sentiments.)
When you mentioned the animal “scrat” I was almost afraid to scroll down but I did and now wish I didn’t! Ugh… I hate seeing stuff like that. They are not from mice but something much bigger but I can’t even entertain the though of what it might be… too unnerving – maybe you have some bats in the eaves? Bats aren’t so bad but other possibilities don’t bear thinking about…. (shiver)
LOL Bex, yes it is not attractive stuff, scat. I was hoping someone would be able to identify the animal that left it. Bats are a consideration, we do have bats around the property. I don’t think it would be anything too horrifying, as it is sitting on the narrow window ledge of a second story window. We have had tree frogs clinging to the screens other years, so that is another possibility, or a bird of some species.