Dog Days of Summer

I like being outside. Outside is my happy place. If you visit my home, you'll be greeted by a courtyard garden. I have all kinds of my favorite plants out there: ferns, hydrangeas, roses, jasmine, palms and so on. I have several seating areas, two eating areas, a hammock chair and a covered porch swing out there, plus candles and other little happy things. I also have my beloved porch off of my master. This is the spot to be on a cool night.

But these places are to be avoided right now during the dog days of summer. Here in the Coastal South, temps are averaging 95 degrees F. The 70% to 100% humidity makes it feel more like 110 degrees. Breezes have become a rarity. The afternoon shower we seem to get every day lately doesn't cool off the area, it just provides steam. Add in mosquitoes, fleas and gnats and you have one of Dante's Rings of Hell.

This makes for a very cranky Me. I can't enjoy a meal outside without suffering bug bites and ending up with flies in my food. Sipping hot coffee on my front steps when it's 97 degrees is not soothing. I feel like a rat in a controlled environment, moving from one air conditioned area to another. This affects my attitude and my creativity.

This heat and humidity will last into August. We don't really have Autumn here. The temps will cool down to the manageable 80s through December, when it will go down the 70s and 60s. I am ready for any temperature below 90.

Marco de Coconut says, "I don't know why they call them the 'dog days of summer.' Dogs don't like this heat, either!"