At the risk of repeating myself (for those who may recall), I am a hot weather pansy - I detest it! Give me that sweet spot in the weather window of temps from the upper forties to no more than 70-72*....MAX!
Yesterday was humid and horrible. Well into the 90s and abominable; and even though it seems pleasant for the moment, for some reason....today has all the earmarks of a bad day.
I don't know why. I can't explain it, but it feels off. Wrong. Dreadful.
Oooo!! The word I want is 'foreboding.'
[insert ominous music here]
I cleaned out the filters in the unit, vacuuming and rinsing them, then vacuumed the floor to eliminate the chance for immediate re-fur-ing. Moved the unit closer to the vent in the window to reduce the source of heat dispersing in the main room.
See, it is an air conditioner - a cooling unit - but it generates A LOT of heat doing the cooling thing, and all of that heat is STILL IN THE HOUSE, just concentrated closer to the venting window and the furniture in that area, and by the end of the day the room is only cool directly in front of the AC unit, and it appears as though I am shoveling dollars out the door to the electric company to cool the AC! It's ridiculous!
So, despite the obvious report of the current temp outdoors (81*F, indoors 76*), I am opting to run the attic fan until the heat becomes a tad more oppressive. The lovely little breeze has me hopeful, and had I a screen door on the front of the house, we would be treated to a wonderful full-on, robust cooling wind right now.
"Well then, Beth" what is so dreadful? Why the doom saying?" I hear you wondering.
I dunno....I said I couldn't explain it. I can't put my finger on it. The feeling is just there.
Made the stupid mistake of not cementing up the entryway to the former chipmunk condo once the activity died down, and now....that's right....you guessed it - we have another one or two inhabitants! Caught sight of at least one of them entering the hole by s-q-u-e-e-z-i-n-g in around the 4"x4" and bricks piled up in front of the gap. CRAP!
Brian has set three rat traps all around the perimeter of the opening and we have since seen two chipmunks approach several times but not enter. But since I am not into keeping vigil every minute all day long, I don't know if they've figured out a way past the gauntlet.
I am seriously considering just cementing the hole right now -- and I would, but I am afraid to pick up or move the traps for fear of setting them off and hurting myself in the process. So, I will do the cement-y deed when Bud gets home from work.
Found a cicada skin on the front stoop. It reminded me of years ago when the boys and I would head outdoors to scour the trees and bushes to find cocoons and abandoned critter skins. They are always neat to see and examine. Nature is cool!
Noticed the Butterfly Bush I have growing in the wrong spot (not enough sun) was actually more bush-like this year, even after blossoming. So there may be hope for it once I move it. However, also noticed (with some alarm), that many of the healthy (finally upright) stems were stripped of their leaves! This has never happened before. So I looked it over but could see nothing (from inside the house).
Several moments later, as I was peering out the window to spy on the chipmunk debacle/progress, I spotted three caterpillars partying down on two branches of the bush which still had foliage. Argh!
I grabbed a canister of insect killer and went to the aid of my beautiful bush only to find nine caterpillars overall having a grand time. NINE! I thought three was bad enough.
Needless to say, I am keeping a closer watch on the plant over the coming days - with my spray in my hand!
Had two rejection responses in my inbox from employment ads I had submitted to over three weeks ago. I guess no news is better than bad news, eh? It wrecked my day completely yesterday - the weather sh*t was simply frosting on a cow dung cake.
I was hesitant to open email today; not looking forward to more of the same. But, I guess it's par for the course.
Speaking of which, I really should get back to that job-hunting grind so that I can eventually get back to the quilting. More of whatever another time.
Stay cool.
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