Pattern of a Hot Summer's Day

These days, our daily Human pattern follows Nature's template, to the best we can know.  We do our very best to take good care of ourselves in this heat.  It makes no sense to do otherwise.  We are more in tune to body cues and we know our limits more besides. We also are more aware of what we can do to keep ourselves cool.

We work outside early and late.  That means we are out in the Garden anywhere from 5:30 to 10 a.m. and 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.  Those times can be extended during the heat of day by working in slivers of shade.  I'm getting good at that. 

Tonight we were working until it was almost dark.  We are finishing that late spring, early summer planting. We chuckled because we will know over the coming days just what we did. 

When we move inside, we pay attention to inside chores and there sure are plenty of those.  We don't work with the greatest degree of zest, but instead work a little more slowly.  We each take a rest in the afternoon.  Yes, we are also drinking lots of fluids. We also find ourselves drawn to eating less meat, less fat, and more veggies and grains.  And more salt.

No, we do not drink much at all in terms of icy beverages.  I was told once by a Chinese Physician that in his medical tradition which dates back 1000s of years, it was known that such practices interfere with digestion and are also hard on one's heart.  In the moment, those beverages seem to cool one down, but the heart and the organs have to work overtime to warm things up.  No, I have not read about this anywhere else, but it intuitively makes a lot of sense.

And yes, we do have air conditioning in the house as support too.  We do not turn it on until the inside temperature of the house reaches about 84 degrees.  The thermostat is set for 81.  It just makes no sense to have such a dramatic shift between temperatures going outside to in. It also makes no sense to live in a refrigerator and plan to do outside work.  Who would want to?

My Mother was a genius at keeping her house cool. While I did not know it at the time, I was surely learning at lot as I watched her move seamlessly about.  We 3 C's now have changed our windows early in our move here.  We also have more insulation in some spots throughout the house.  We could not change it all.  Some large trees would be nice, but they are a long ways off.

Last summer, we added window coverings that block a good percentage of the sun and the outside heat.  We let in the early morning light.  Then we close the blinds on the east side of the house.  We have the windows open away from the sun.  As long as there is cool air coming in, the windows can stay open.  When that shifts, those windows are closed and so are the blinds.  In the heat of the day, all the blinds are closed.  While I would have thought it would be depressing, it isn't.  It just feels like a comfortable cave.

We are trying to generate less indoor heat.  That means we are cooking less.  We are using the solar oven more.  We (especially I) could do more here.  I've only had 62 years of practice generating heat inside.  However, it doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to know that any heat that we can generate outside means we aren't heating up the house.  That is a good idea. 

We may also be looking at a Rocket Stove.  Plus, I really have designs on an outdoor canning kitchen.  Mother always talked of Aunt Lula canning and drying produce out in her shed.  The Old Timers were smart about such things. We new ones are slow learners but we do indeed learn.

Melanie and I are learning that light loose fitting cotton clothing with long sleeves and a broad brimmed hat helps with the cooling for outside work.  We spent so many years thinking that fewer clothes meant cooler, but it sure doesn't.  Besides such covering means we have less exposure to the Sun.

All these little adjustments in the Human Practice means that we can be more acclimated and respectful of the heat while still getting the outside work done.  It also means that the heat is less costly and we are using less outside resources.  Now that's a plan.