112 Degrees (F.) and 4 Percent Humidity

Howdy folks,
Today, as I write this, the temperature is 112 degrees (Fahrenheit).  The humidity is 4 percent.  It's hot and it's dry.  The forecast is ten percent chance of rain by end of the week.  Not very good odds.  The odds go up to twenty percent chance of rain during the weekend.  Do I think it will rain?  Let me put it this way:  I'm not running to Las Vegas to place a bet on it.

The nighttime low temperatures hover around 80 degrees.  Life in the Southwest Desert goes on at a slower pace.  Cars roll down the street at a measured distance from each other.  There is significantly less traffic this time of year because the snowbirds, i.e., folks who leave this climate for homes up north where the summers are cooler, are gone.  Year round residents who can afford a vacation may leave for the shores of California, a visit to out of town friends or relatives, and high altitudes or latitudes.  Folks with limited budgets and poor cooling systems frequent movie theaters, indoor shopping malls, or eateries where they can linger in the commercial air conditioning.  An air conditioned vehicle is welcome relief from the heat.

Ice water is the drink of choice in the heat of the day.  I have heard the crabby critique that ice water is not good for digestion, but as a stand alone drink, it hits the spot when you are working in the heat.  Drink early; drink often.  You will probably be sweating more than usual and need to be well hydrated.

I see folks from Northern countries frequent this blog.  I wonder why they are fascinated with the Southwest Desert.  I know why I am fascinated by the Southwest Desert.  It is a unique environment with unusual flora and hearty fauna.  The desert teaches you to use your resources wisely and be grateful for all you have.  The desert environment can be harsh in the summer with severe heat and sudden monsoons.  But it can be pleasant at different times of day and night and different seasons.  The heat of the summer has a dreamlike quality.  We are lucky to have water, transportation, and cooling systems.  We are lucky to have shade, refrigeration and freezers for foods, and experts to repair and maintain the systems and appliances.

If I had a solar car I could park in the sun, and the sun could charge the car's battery, and the car could run off of that charge, it would be efficient for me .  If the roof of my house could store solar energy like a battery, and power my appliances and lights, that would be real progress.  We were made for solar out here.  Where are the innovators, inventors, and affordable prototypes.  Seems only rich folks and government buildings can afford solar panels.  The heck with retrofitting, just build all the new structures with state of the art solar collectors.  When will the roof of my car be a solar collector?  This may not work for folks in Seattle, but it would be of interest to me.

I AM
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011 













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Weather Report

I just logged in and it is 100 degrees at 7 PM.  Around 9 or 10 PM it is about 90 degrees.  I don't know what the high of the day was.  It doesn't matter.  When I have to go outside, I do.  I try to stay in the shade.  That is not always possible.  Air conditioning is a real treat.  Ice water is a wonderful luxury.  We are lucky to have these things.  Many of us use our air conditioning sparingly.

Some of us like to turn the AC (air conditioning) off when we sleep.  The nights cool relative to the days but more importantly, the noise of the AC cycling on and off can disturb sleep.  Before dawn is the coolest time of day.  If you are awake then, you can open your windows or patio doors to get the coolest air of the day.  Sometimes there is a breeze, but sometimes not.  As the earth warms here, and the days grow longer, culminating on June 21, the Summer Solstice, the nights get warmer and warmer.  The tap water also gets warmer and warmer.  You cannot get a cool drink of water from the tap because the ground, the building, the foundation, the pipes are all warm.  The positive side of this is that you can take a comfortable shower in "cold" tap water.  It is not cold but comfortably warm and slightly refreshing.  Some folks turn off the hot water heater to save energy during the summer or at least turn the temperature of the hot water heater down to it's lowest selection.

The pool water is warm and getting warmer.  It is becoming like bath water.  Swimming at night is comfortable because the sun is not baking on you and reflecting in the pool water, yet the air temperature is quite warm, as I said, perhaps 90 degrees.  The desert summer nights are very pleasant.  The air has a good quality that needs its own word, perhaps a word that is not in the English language, a word that means "wonderful southwest desert night air."

It is nice to go for a drive at night in the wonderful southwest desert night air.  The lights of the city twinkle in the distance.  When you arrive in the city, the shopping centers are pleasingly illuminated.  The stores are air conditioned.  While the air conditioned stores are refreshing and sometimes even chilly, it is always most beautiful to return to the wonderful southwest desert night air.

It is also nice to sit outside at night, in a comfortable chair, and listen to the sounds of the night.  There may be traffic in the far distance.  There may be some wind chimes.  There may be a dog barking.  There may be the white noise of an air conditioner or cooler.  Someone may be having a pool party or Bar-b-q.  The guests may be laughing just a bit too loudly if the cocktails are strong and plentiful.  If you are lucky you may see a star shoot across the sky or a satellite slowly move in its orbit.  You may be sipping your own cocktail.  You may just be drifting off to sleep to the white noise of the distant traffic.

Enjoying the sweet southwest desert summer nights,
I AM
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c) 2011

How Weather, Cooling, and Drink

It has been over 90 degrees (Fahrenheit obviously) for 2 days in a row.  The hard core desert dwellers try to see how long they can hold out before they turn on the air conditioning or cooler.  The hardest of the hard core never use AC or coolers.  There are the in between hardies who use an electric fan, perhaps with a wet cloth thrown over it to cool the air.  It has been stated that there would be fewer people living in the southwest desert if we didn't have air conditioning.  I say, turn off the AC and let's see who's the last one standing.

I have a passion for ice cold water during the hot weather.  Sometimes I add lemon and a straw.  Sometimes I add limes and honey making a limeade.  If I had one of the fancy cooking blogs, I would take photos of lemons, limes, and honey.  I would show a photo of cutting a lemon in half.  I might link you to a YouTube video of juicing lemons and limes with my $15 plastic electric citrus juicer and then pouring the juice into a quart of water in a ball canning jar.  I would remind you to add the ice cubes before the water and juice to avoid splashing your granite counter with the acidic juices.  I don't have granite counters.  Perhaps we could pan to a cactus outside.  I could educate you about the alleged health promoting properties of honey, maple syrup, and xylitol.  I could show you how elegant it looks to add a straw and a sprig of mint, and/or very thin slices of lemon.  And finally, my secret ingredient... a whole, dried or fresh, cayenne chili pepper.  I grew peppers 3 years in a row.  Last year's plant produced a very thick skinned chili which I did not like for cooking or eating, but it is good for visual presentation in lemon or lime water.  I leave a half inch of green stem on the bright red cayenne pepper and the visual is spectacular in a tall thin glass or quart jar.

I am fortunate to have purchased some beautiful, mild, domestic (i.e., USA) lemons at my local grocery.  These lemons have such a refined, graceful taste that they require no sweetener.  My water of choice is distilled because a mighty tasty mystery blend comes out of our tap.  A generous  white sludge remains in the distiller after distilling each gallon of tap water.  A trick my Texas relatives taught me is, if you are in a restaurant always order water with lemon and a straw.  If the water tastes "bad" the lemon will usually disguise the off taste.  The straw ... maybe you can drink from a glass that has someone else's lipstick on the rim?

If the lemons are bitter and I do not want a sweetener, I forgo lemons and drink simple iced or refrigerator cold water.  I like it.  It is cooling.  I also like traditional iced tea with lemon and a straw.  Once in a while I drink carbonated water, perhaps over ice, with lemon or lime; sometimes I add a cayenne pepper just to remind myself that I am in the hot desert.

Stay cool and well.