The Lizardcat & the Weather Stats

Moscow mules make the pool even cooler.  I really like how the scalloped rim of the pool is reflected in Matt's sunglasses.  6/27/2021

It is hot.  Yesterday our local weather station recorded 110 degrees F. at 2:45pm.  They said that, at the time, it was a couple degrees hotter here than at the weather station in Death Valley even*.  So...yeah...hot.  

It was still 90 degrees at 7pm so I didn't even open the door to take this picture, hence the screen filter...but there is Ginger...having the nap of her life.  She's a lizardcat.  7/15/2021

At least the blazing heat feels more natural in July than it did in June.  June seemed like a bad summer weather omen.  The hot, dry conditions came in like a lion.  I expect July and August to be hot, not so with June.  It is only the fact it started so soon that made me wonder what sort of blistering summer (and fire season) we were in for...

We braved the heat for a farewell BBQ in the country for our friend Casey.  The party people just had to hydrate and migrate with the shade as the day progressed.  7/10/2021

To satisfy my curiosity I spent some time looking over the historical data and charts from the National Weather Service.  The NWS considers a normal high temp here in June to be between 61-69 degrees F.  Our average high in June this year was, by contrast, 87.5 degrees.  We set four new daily average temperature records--June 3rd, 4th, 14th, and 15th.  

On top of the grill is one of Ginger's preferred places from which to oversee her domain.  And, you know, take naps.  6/26/2021

Our fair city set three new daily high records, too--June 3rd (98 degrees), June 14th (103 degrees), and June 15th (105 degrees).  The weather service would say a normal high 73, 76, and 77 degrees F. would be a normal high for those day respectively.  

The cloud cover made this a perfect night to watch a baseball game. 7/2/2021 

We also only got .29 inches of precipitation for the month compared to the NWS's expected normal of almost 2.25 inches.  So...hot and dry.

Flying kites on the heels of a very brief rain shower.  We were out on our bikes and ducked into the dugouts at a nearby baseball park to dodge the downpour.  It was a really neat way to enjoy the storm.  We were so happy to see the rain!  7/3/2021

Now I like the heat.  I really do.  I am a summer child.  I was working a semi-secret campaign to get Matt to move to Arizona for a number of years there...before getting heat exhaustion at the Rolling Stones put a serious damper on it.  But, boy, did Matt and I sure miss our gentle launch into summer that June usually provides!  I am so glad we bought that minipool.  And have air-conditioning.  And a basement.  And ditch rights.

An Independence Day (Eve) bicycle ride.  4/3/2021

I was pretty toasty after my 2.3 mile ride home yesterday afternoon.  Matt, bless him, had a glass of ice water ready and waiting for me on the kitchen table.  Ginger insisted that she be let outside to bask in the heat, the little furry lunatic.  ;)  Matt and I went downstairs and worked on a jigsaw puzzle.  It was still 90 degrees at 9pm.

We heard saw John Robert y Pan Blanco play their delightful international tunes at a free outdoor community concert.  It must have been hot because Matt never got out on the dancefloor.  He just bobbed along from his chair. 7/13/2021

Today it was hovering around 85 degrees at the noonhour and, I must say, it feels gosh darn reasonable after yesterday.  Ha!  It is crazy what a person can get used to and how relative things can be!

Ginger loves the backyard.  SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much.  Rain or shine...just not snow.  She hates snow. 

*The figure recorded in the NWS data is 106 degrees, not 110 degrees as reported locally.  Either way, the previous record high for July 19th was 105 degrees so....a record breakingly hot day.

Matt looks mighty happy with the poolside pizza party.