Monday, August 23, 2010

jeebie chreesie it's hot

it's august in texas which means it's quite normal for it there to be entire weeks in the triple digits. upper triple digits. high of 105, heat index of 111. thankfully the humidity has only been in the 40% range or it would be truly miserable. everything looks like death warmed over. warmed well over.

im counting the days until fall. ive always been partial to fall - it's when my birthday is, when sulla's birthday is, when halloween is, when, at least growing up in the midwest, the weather gets crisp and it's sweater and jeans weather.

my love of fall has grown in the last 5 years of living in DFW simply because i can finally get to projects that have been utterly ignored for the last two+ months because i dont want to die from heat stroke - and folks who hire others to do their lawn care because they dont want to sweat are assholes. there i said it. plants and flowers get their second wind and it's almost like spring again. jeans and sweater weather usually comes in november, but i can wear colours darker than a deep blue without turning into a walking solar oven.

it is also back to school time which means i will have more time to do things. sad but true. this fall the plan to:
  • continue to mulch the backyard. Mr. R from next door continues to give me cardboard and i also found out the local petsmart doesnt use a trash compacter and has an entire dumpster for cardboard. theyve got large thick boxes for their live fish deliveres and then the smaller flats for canned food that are perfect for laying against the fence or over gaps and along seams.
  • build mini pergallas or archways for living awnings around the south and west windows come next spring.
  • take out the walkway stones
  • burn the piles of wood from the last storms
  • weatherise and insulate the metal awning over the back of the house that makes the back porch a sweat box and not as usuable as it should be.