Oh. My. Heck. It's H-O-T!

[susnfx]

Can I just whine about the weather for one minute? We're three degrees from breaking the record for the hottest day in Salt Lake City EVER. We're at 102 right now (39C). We've been over 90 (32C) every day since June 26 and had no rain since June 6. That's JUNE 6, not July. And it doesn't cool down at night--in the low to mid 70s (23C) every night.

It's so energy-sapping and depressing. What I'd give for a thunderstorm that would cool things down even for an afternoon. But there's nothing in the forecast at all. Our forecast calls for over 100 for the next four days and then down into the high 90s.

Now I know many folks say that our humidity is so low (it's 11% today), that the heat isn't bad. That's a myth. It's HOT!

Thank you for your kind attention. End of whine.

Susan

[mutepointe]

walk it off.

[Coffee]

Meanwhile here in Suffolk, England, I've not seen it get above 30C, if that. Been getting a lot of rain, cloudy most days. I tell ya, for this East Texas boy that's a good and welcome break.

Hey, maybe ya should come this way for a couple of weeks. Come see London maybe, or Cambridge.

[djm]

walk it off.

djm

[Cass]

I'm starting to grow gills and fins...it's soooo wet and cold and dreary in Lancashire. I'm not sun-tanned..it's only rust!
The sun came out for about an hour yesterday. I'd forgotten what it looked like. Think we've had the wettest month on record...(or something like that!) The weather is truly awful! (...but then again, I grumble when it gets too warm..never mind too hot!

Cass.

[Jack]

My disease makes heat really unbearable if not painful, so I feel your pain. It's been in the high 90s F here, and we're suffering a major drought.

[pipersgrip]

it is so hot down here, that i sweat when i swim . seriously, i just stand outside for 5 min, and i am soaked in sweat. it is like an oven when you walk outside.

[Casey Burns]

Its been hot and muggy here in Seattle. We aren't used to it. Right now towards evening its 85 and about 75% humidity. Last week it was 98 but the humidity was low. In my shop I've had to keep a swamp cooler going during the hottest times so I can work in there. On the other hand the tomatoes I planted outside in May are producing ripe tomatoes already and the 100 pepper plants (mostly Gypsies, Hot Portugals and Infernos) that my friend Nat and I planted in his greenhouse are doing incredibly. First red pepper this last week already and all the plants are loaded that they need to be staked, lest they fall over!

Am trying to get some 37 flutes out by a week from Wednesday. Most are an hour or so from completion, though 2 still need tuning slides and 3 are getting keys strung on them. Fortunately no more major turning in this hot weather!

On Thursday after this week, I'm then off to Lark Camp where I'll do the usual sharing of jokes, Australian Shirazes and rare high octane dark chocolate varietals with some notorious musicians such as John Skelton. Should be fun and I am getting excited about the week.

I'll probably do very little flute playing. That's my 9 to 5, though I'll be there at the cAMP with a few interesting flutes to show people, including a very nice 5 key that I am borrowing from my friend Paul. (Means I can deduct the music camp from my taxes). This is vacation really so most of the time I won't be thinking about flutes. Instead I'll be visiting with old friends, playing Galician pipes with the Gaiteros (there's about 15 of us there) as well as playing some beginningish Gypsy swing and jazz on guitar. Ian Law has a lovely Ocarina session and its followed by the Hawaiian Happy Hour before dinner and the night's dances and sessions.

To any Chiffers there who want to experience my ugliness in person - I'll be hunkering down out at Camp 2 most of the time but will come in to Camp 1 evenings occasionally where most of the Irish hang out. Catch me if you can! And Friday night us Gaiteros will be in your face in the dinner line playing Munieras on our pipes and panderettas along with the Marimba and the Brass bands at the west end of the dining hall near where the food gets served, assuming we do something together again like last year (if so I'll get some video to post on YouTube).

The heat is fine for the instruments - its hot like this all the time where blackwood and Mopane grow. But keep them instruments humidified so us makers aren't spending the fall repairing cracks!

Casey

[cowtime]

Our heat has been normal here for the last week- 70-80s, but still no rain.
Most farmers are either feeding hay or selling livestock due to this drought. Some are having to sell due to lack of water either in ponds or wells. It's scary.

[susnfx]

walk it off.

I'm not feeling the proper amount of sympathy here.

Hey, maybe ya should come this way for a couple of weeks. Come see London maybe, or Cambridge.

This is better.

This isn't.

...I feel your pain

Much better.

I can't fail to notice that no one has offered to have central air conditioning installed in my home.

Susan

[Charlene]

In Spokane it's been over 95 for over a week, with lows only into the high 60s or low 70s. We did have a thunderstorm blow through on Friday and it poured, but it didn't make it cooler as thunderstorms usually do around here. We've been sleeping in a tent in the backyard, since my husband doesn't like to leave the air conditioner on at night and he likes the bedroom door shut anyway, so the air doesn't circulate. Of course, it's a 25 year old window unit, so it's struggling to cool the whole house anyway.

We're about 3 inches below where we should be on rainfall for the year.

From the NOAA website:

WEATHER ITEM OBSERVED TIME RECORD YEAR NORMAL DEPARTURE LAST
VALUE (LST) VALUE VALUE FROM YEAR
NORMAL
..................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
TODAY
MAXIMUM 93 315 PM 102 1919 83 10 86
MINIMUM 67 603 AM 42 1969 55 12 57
AVERAGE 80 69 11 72

PRECIPITATION (IN)
TODAY 0.00 0.40 1908 0.02 -0.02 0.00
MONTH TO DATE 0.08 0.44 -0.36 0.10
SINCE OCT 1 13.93 14.91 -0.98 18.78
SINCE JAN 1 6.25 9.36 -3.11 12.77

Well, the table is messed up but I think you can figure it out. It's basically showing that it's been hot and dry.

We had new air conditioning installed at work, but it's still 82 or 83 in the store. Today one customer said, "you need to get your air conditioning fixed." I said "It was just fixed." The building is made of cinderblocks with no insulation and a flat roof that soaks up the heat.

It's actually cooled down to 79 now at 9:30 pm, but it's supposed to be 96 tomorrow. I'm trying not to complain, because I will want this heat next winter when it's -20 around New Year's.

[Anstapa]

It was cool and blustery on Saturday with some rain mixed in, more like an Autumn day. Sunday was very pleasant high 70's to low 80's, no humidty and bright sun.

Anstapa

[Anstapa]

It was cool and blustery on Saturday with some rain mixed in, more like an Autumn day. Sunday was very pleasant high 70's to low 80's, no humidty and bright sun.

Anstapa

[chas]

I was camping on the coast of Maine last week with wife and six-year-old. I think the first four days it didn't break 70F/20C, plus it was raining, misting, or just damp. Not great tent weather. The last day made it all worth it, though, warm and clear. I know it was pushing 100/38 here during at least some of that time. It's supposed to be in the 90's and very muggy this week, so back to same old same old.

The poor weather didn't ruin the eating, though. Restaurant one evening, the rest were fresh (like right off the boat) fish or shrimp cooked on the Coleman stove. Mmmm.

[Jack]

]...I feel your pain

Much better.

I can't fail to notice that no one has offered to have central air conditioning installed in my home.

Do you have a car? Maybe you can sit in your car. It's the opposite for me--have a small air conditioner in my apartment which cools one room, but I have no car so I have to walk everywhere and I burn up. My disease-induced heat intolerance make me feel like I'm going to have a heat stroke every day. I hope it gets cooler there immediately.