Tuesday Open Thread ~ How Hot Is It?


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It’s so hot that I saw a squirrel pick up a nut with pot holders.
~ Corny old joke
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Arizona came to California this weekend with record breaking temps. On Saturday, it reached a scorching 115 degrees here in the San Gabriel Valley. For those of you who don’t live in Arizona, or in California for that matter, ya wanna know what 115 degrees feels like? Like the air turned into solid matter and is being fueled by hell on earth. My cat Zoe came into the house after being out for less than a half hour (it wasn't even noon yet) where she lied motionless on the kitchen floor with her head resting on her water bowl. I was so worried she was showing signs of heat stroke, I called the vet. But just as I got the office on the phone, Zoe was up and around meowing for food and attention. After that little scare, both cats were "grounded" for the rest of the weekend. By the evening on Saturday, temps dipped down to 98 degrees, which by comparison was somewhat bearable, but by Sunday afternoon it was back up to a blazing 112 degrees. Eventually, I thought to hell with it and took advantage of a friend’s pool where we drank watermelon margaritas while floating around in those inflatable pool chairs. A pleasant enough activity as far as it goes, but when I woke up Monday morning I paid for it, leaving me to ponder the relevancy of the phrase “all things in moderation“ which was definitely not the theme during this hot as a chili pepper weekend.

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Watermelon Margaritas

½ cup white sugar
½ cup water
3 strips orange zest
2 cups cubed seeded watermelon
¾ cup white tequila
¼ cup lime juice
1 pinch salt or sugar for rimming glasses
1 lime, cut into wedges
2 cups crushed ice, or as needed

Instructions

  1. Bring 1/2 cup sugar, water, and orange zest in a small saucepan to boil, stirring constantly. Simmer until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove simple syrup from heat and allow to cool completely.
  2. Place watermelon in a blender or food processor. Pulse until pureed.
  3. Stir watermelon puree into a large pitcher with simple syrup, tequila, and lime juice.
  4. Place a small amount of salt or sugar into a saucer. Rub edge of margarita glasses with a lime wedge to moisten. Lightly dip the rim of the glass into the saucer to rim the glass; tap off excess salt or sugar.
  5. Fill rimmed glasses with crushed ice; pour margarita mixture into glasses and garnish with lime wedges to serve.
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Well, that about wraps things up for this week's edition.
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What’s on your mind today?
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magiamma's picture

And all

105 in santa cruz. Cooling today and more tomorrow.

This is not food or happy. Hope that’s cool.

So this is what the “poisoning” was about. Unreal.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-politics-navalny-nordstream/ge...

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has questioned whether imposing sanctions on countries like Russia are effective, as a debate rages over whether to suspend the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany over the poisoning of a Kremlin critic.

Watering very early and late and spraying tops of trees. Their leaves are frying.

Take good care all.

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15 users have voted.

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

Anja Geitz's picture

@magiamma

Anything above a 98 degrees is hard on the body, but the record temps we’ve been seeing in the country are beyond my capacity to comprehend.

On another matter entirely, I started composting and am working with a new client where I will be blogging about my experience for her website. I’ve only just started but already have a sense of the beautiful living microbes that make our soul rich and give us life. I’ve been converted. Smile

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10 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

lotlizard's picture

I guess this means that, sadly, there are still enough people out there who can be taken advantage of, thinking Crowdstrike is a reputable brand name in the information biz.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@lotlizard

Sadly enough, there are people who can still be taken advantage of. And those taking advantage of them are sleeping very soundly too.

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9 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Azazello's picture

at least for awhile. High temp for today in Tucson is predicted to be only 99°.
I still don't like the long-term trend.

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9 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Anja Geitz's picture

@Azazello

I don’t know how much influence you have, but could you have a word with Arizona and ask her nicely if she could vacation, oh I dunno, anywhere else but here in California?

Thanks!

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8 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Azazello's picture

@Anja Geitz
If you promise to keep your damn smoke within your borders, we'll see about keeping our heat here. The sun is not yellow this morning, but red from smoke.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emx6dU7suvg width:400 height:240]

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13 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Anja Geitz's picture

@Azazello

That is no good Sad

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6 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

usefewersyllables's picture

It is 34degF here outside Denver, heading for 27, and we're currently having light snow. The forecast calls for 4-8" of snow today. We've already had about 1/4" of rain from this storm, so this will be the most moisture we've seen since April.

High yesterday was 97. Welcome to cold and flu season...

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12 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Anja Geitz's picture

@usefewersyllables

Had to do a double take on the numbers you cited in your comment. Snow in September? Is that normal for this time of year? That seems too bizarre to contemplate after the weekend we had here.

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8 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

usefewersyllables's picture

@Anja Geitz

it is coming through in waves. This is early for the first snow- it hasn't come this early in the Denver metro area in over 20 years. However, according to the historical records, it has snowed in every month but August, so there's that.

We had an early super-cold snap last year that dropped from the 70s to single digits overnight while all the trees were still in full leaf, just like they are now. We lost a lot of trees in this neighborhood from that. This storm will be a branch-stripper, if we actually end up getting all the snow they have forecast, but at least it won't be the super-hard freeze we had last year. We really do get some absolutely amazing weather swings here in the foothills of the Rockies, even before you factor in the increasing weather chaos resulting from climate change.

And Weather Underground is calling for temps back into the 80s for all next week...

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12 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Anja Geitz's picture

@usefewersyllables

I’ve never known that about the foothills of the Rockies. That must also be very hard on human bodies as well as trees. Personally, after 25 years of east coast winters, I don’t envy you the snow, even if it does “look pretty”.

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9 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

usefewersyllables's picture

@Anja Geitz

upon the altar of high-school football back when repair surgery was pretty primitive) had been absolutely screaming at me for the past three days, so I knew that this was going to be a real storm. It was weird having them feel the way they do in the dead-of-winter when it was actually 100degF out. They always let me know what's coming. Without CBD, I don't think I'd make it out of bed.

And yes, it is hard on the body, and that is getting old. I could tolerate a climate where the only ice around was voluntarily added to beverages, to be sure...

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12 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Anja Geitz's picture

@usefewersyllables

I could tolerate a climate where the only ice around was voluntarily added to beverages, to be sure...

Heh, Heh. Couldn't we all? Smile

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5 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@usefewersyllables
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fimbulwinter

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

usefewersyllables's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

That certainly seems to be the way it is going this year...

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4 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

enhydra lutris's picture

mid-afternoon break yesterday. We quit eating chips some time ago, but over the weekend my wife broke down and got a bag of corn chips and 2 avocados. Yesterday in the early afternoon peak heat we had guacamole and Spanish style Sangria:

slice 2 fresh oranges into pitcher and massage-mash with wooden spoon
add 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
add 1/3 cup triple sec
add 750 ml of rioja, other tempranillo, or other hearty dry red wine (we used a grenache)
ice
stir
drink

Hot again today. Time to get going on chores so I can hide out later.

be well and have a good one.

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9 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Anja Geitz's picture

@enhydra lutris

Freshly made Sangria. You guys know how to treat yourselves well. I’ve only made Sangria once, but the recipe I used called for brandy. Either way, on these hot days, you couldn’t have picked a more perfect refreshment (unless you selected Watermelon Margaritas, lol!)

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7 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

The cold weather Usefewersyllables mentioned is blowing toward Santa Fe as a back door cold front. Winds 30-40 mph and temps in high 30's. We also are under a smoke advisory as well.
Left behind that intense heat in Central Texas where reading of 112 were recorded places. 110 was my highest reading. Could not keep enough water out for the birds. I saw a squirrel lying in the bird bath cooling off and sever times birds standing in the water to drink.
Guess I am glad to be here in Santa Fe for the time being.

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8 users have voted.

Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

Anja Geitz's picture

@jakkalbessie

Last night as I was driving home from a friend’s house, I saw a pack of very hungry coyotes running up my street looking for anything they could get their teeth on. But I’ll bet they were thirsty too. How animals survive in this, I don’t know. And my level of denial in not pondering it too deeply allows me to avoid the distress that comes when I do ponder it too deeply.

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7 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier