Hunkering down here, as things are happening. Here’s the news:
Miss Eighteen has left for college. Yup, finally flew the nest. She’ll be settling in with a load of classes and finding a job, and all of those events of college life. There’ll be fewer photo shoots with her, sadly, but when she comes home for holidays, we’ll be sure to get one in! Meanwhile I’ll be sending her knitteds in the mail, and hopefully Miss Fifteen will carry on modelling solo for as long as I can come up with something new.
We signed on officially with our construction company and met down at the county building department over a week ago, so the building plans are in process, rebuilding will start soon. However, I can’t give you anything but a hopeful “soon”, the plans are not through the office. Maybe foundation will begin before the end of August?
Miss Fifteen’s big summer musical production “Mary Poppins” for which I had an epic wait until it was over before getting to do our Lincoln Street photo shoot, has already fallen back buried under weeks of past tense. Sigh. Life just shoots along like a bullet, doesn’t it?
Oh, but hey!!! I’ve been knitting up a new prototype of something that I have been immersed with math and percentages on a principle of twelfths, something that I dreamed up hazily nearly a year ago but which I haven’t had the right time to explore. Finally, I am really enjoy knitting its first sample, and so relieved and pleased that its working out nicely. I am really pleased with this idea!
Okay, now the not so fun things. For those of you who don’t want to know, read no further.
World news are the fires in California. The fires have been growing in number and intensity since June, as well as the usual heat droning on, sometimes with high wind, which are wildfires’ best friends! I’ve been hunkering inside for the summer so far, and I have melted into a soft fat buttery lump as I’ve sat at the table knitting, and designing myself to distraction! I do make runs into town for errands, or a cafe knit, and an occasional short walk on the ridge if there by chance is a smoke free cool morning, but not lately. I am ashamed to say that I don’t think I ventured out for much walking through the season as yet, although I had every good intention, for when the oppressive heat and fires began I just surrendered to it.
The choking smoke hovers at our elevation, so we are assaulted by the fires although they are far away, as the smoke is thick every morning when we wake, and takes much of the day to clear up before coming back in the night. For weeks now, my anxiety around fire is at full tilt, and out there is a constant reminder of a very harsh environment. T his is something I’m going to have to accept about living up here in the summer, perhaps every year to come, as we seem to live at some kind of inversion layer for heat and smoke at 2000 ft elevation, and California is most surely cracking under climate change and decades of fire prevention. But the fire eventually wins.
I appreciate things like an excellent air conditioning unit in our new little dwelling, and that I can close all the screens and keep our small space smoke free, and when the air clears, I open the windows to let in fresh air , but not long before the heat is so oppressive I must close them up again for another 24 hours. Thus has been the last month or so… this dance with the windows and dreaming of far off verdant watery lands.
In more recent months huge trees crashing around me & sometimes the tiny house would shake, as the loggers harvested in their window of opportunity, and for the most part I’ve stayed by the homestead, watching while the loggers’ huge excavators churned up the soil of the forest into a loose sooty dust, into a black air-born silt so bad that along with the smoke from the fires I’ve developed a bad cough. But fortunately the logging seems to have stopped as of mid July, although the chipping comes next. I’ll be happy when the next massive truck that comes up our pulverized dusty road will be for excavating for the new house foundation!
I am craving walks in the fog, and cool fresh mornings when I can push myself through the discomfort of starting a walking regimen all over again without interruption. I had started the summer with every good intention of walking vigorously every morning, but that was before the wildfires and the smoke situation. I am afraid my best efforts are on hold until smoke clears and some Pacific weather pushes in to us , hopefully soon!
And don’t ask about the garden, for if its not too smokey out, then its too hot to water & work in it, so this is the shifting time of year where the garden suffers and strains to survive. So, what to do??? I think I’ll make another cup of tasty coffee and rattle off some more rows!
Please tell me in the comments below, a story of your weather, maybe how you suspect climate change is at work, and I especially want to hear about any extra cool & rainy weather. You who endure dull overcast humid summer days, you do not know how good you have it!
Jenjoyce Design 
It’s very warm here but there is a lovely breeze. We drove up over Exmoor this morning and it was shrouded with mist. I could see it rolling along the ground. The heather is in full flower up there now and looks glorious.
Xxxxx
Tracey, that sounds absolutely heavenly! My kind of nature! xx
Sunny days here in the Scottish Borders. Gardens blooming and veggies growing like topsy. We cannot complain although last month was soooo hot that it was easy to not go out for a walk or a run. It is much fresher these last couple of days so back running in our beautiful countryside. I think about you and your plight and am hopeful that you will manage to get through this. Please, remember that you are much stronger than you think you are.
Lizzy, we all have our plight, that is why I felt self-conscious and deleted this post, but decided this morning to reinstate. Because if we stop communicating about each of our individual plights, then we become silent, all in unison, and that is not a good alternative. I will be happier within four tiny walls if I must find a way!
Sorry that you are surrounded by smoke from the fires. I hope that the fires will be put out and you will have fresh clear air soon.
That is great news that your house will start to be built very soon.
Here we have had many hot and humid days. Right now we have a heat warning, one of many this summer. It is pouring rain and we have thunderstorms. Tomorrow the temperature will cool down a bit.
I am so thankful I have central air, the first place I have lived with it. Considering how hot and humid it has become in the past few years I hope any place I live in the future will have central air.
I had better get online as the storm is getting pretty wild.
I hope everyone is having a great day,
Wendy, I can’t imagine what heat and humidity do beyond discomfort, are there any natural disasters from humid heat I wonder? I imagine the wildlife is accustomed? But in that steam bath, I am glad you are so comfortable in your wonderful place there with your AC and pride of little lions, and I’ll be sending you a reply of length next. xx
Hi Jennifer, I wish you could come and visit for awhile. We would love to see you. Jeff and Emma as well are very welcome. It’s currently beautiful here and we have plenty of room.
❤️ Lance
Lance, we three thank you three for your generosity. One day! But for now we will be needing to stay around as construction will be starting soon! Yay!!! Hugs to ALL. xx
Jen, dear friend far away, by now I know a little of your situation. Here in the southern highlands of Sweden we have not had any Arin or humidity since May 1st. Our large ponds have lost about 2 feet of their depth, the little rivulet has gone dry and trees look like they usually do mid September. Leaves yellow or green just drooping. Hopeless situation for wildlife, cattle, harvests and bees…
Wildfires, enormous areas totally devastated. And no forecast of rain…
Yvonne, decided to repost after feeling a bout of confidence this morning. I lack confidence so much I am not sure of what steps to take from one hour to the next, all post-trauma effect I’m convinced (scared little mouse). I am so sorry to hear that your beautiful wild is having a drought, that is just not right! We experience that very same thing you describe so well, many times in my life I’ve seen the same very devastating thing, wilting, yellowing, scorched … and with no forecast of rain. Rain has for eons been the element of happiness… the priceless commodity of life itself, I am expecting our future generations to figure out how to harness the power of it. Cloud seeding, farming, harvesting, and trading! Why are we not more advanced in this? Thank you for your words, I’ll catch up with you in a longer reply in gmail. xx
I wish I could send you a big blast of Scottish rain to extinguish those flames. It’s just awful. X
Kelly, I will appreciate your sharing your Scottish rain here in California, and the fires to be put out. Thank you ~~ xx
Life here in Charlottesville, VA has been soggy to say the least. I read last Friday we had already gotten close to 8″ of rain for the month of August and it was only the 3rd. There’s water everywhere – and it’s been this way since last spring. We have had several huge storms that dump insane amounts of rain (we’re talking 5-15 inches) in a matter of hours. My poor garden has taken a beating from all the rain – my tomatoes, cucs and basil are just done. We’ve been keeping the house closed up to keep the humidity to a minimum, but I don’t like having to run AC with the windows closed. I wish I could send you some of our rain.
I have been weaving in my front porch. But the afternoons are so oppresively muggy and hot that I come in from weaving for the afternoon. My rectangle weaving loom must wait outside then. I am generally weaving outside during the mornings and evenings.
I like the way my weaving is coming. I have been working and planning toward this for over a year. An additional idea came over me fo a center panel which will wnd up on the back of the piece when worn. If I can get it to work, it would be spectacular!
Things that make ya go hmmmm!