sweltering Wendesday
I was going to try doing the nice parts first, but apparently I am a chronological writer.
T-Storms moved in this morning about 4:30 a.m., it didn't pour, but it was a nice and steady. The rain was just quitting when we left for work at 7:45. So the grass and the flowers got a nice drink. Busy, busy day at work. Little P was back from a 6 day weekend. It was very nice while he was gone. There is a lot of tension between my new colleague (have I given her a Peter-Pan related monicker yet? I need to.) and Little-P; today she got so fed up she walked out at 10:30 for her "lunch" break. This is going to take some time to resolve.
It was 101º when I got out of work, over 170º in the car. I had to have all of the windows rolled up and the roof closed tight because of the morning rain, so it was just an oven. Even with the canvas bag protecting the steering wheel, it was too hot to hold tight. Picked up a card & balloon for SIL, picked up M and headed for Cheesecake Factory. Got there about 5:35 and we were the 2nd last to arrive. Had a nice meal, talked with Baby Bro, SIL, her sib, and parents, and my own family. We had 2 very good waitresses, and they happily gave out separate, and small group checks. Yay! I had my standby Chinese Chicken salad with the plum sauce dressing on the side. And after receiving my mile-high salad I recalled my gripe with it. This is a HUGE salad, and they are so short with the chicken. I think you get the equivalent of 1/4 of a chicken breast sliced razor thin. So aside from very little protein, i really enjoyed it. M had the breakfast burrito (very yummy!) and HUGE as well. We both brought half our meal home. we even split a piece of cheesecake for dessert.
SIL looked thin, but good. Was very careful not to hug her too hard. Lots of jokes about spilling her guts. She said the writhing in pain on the gravel on the side of the road has already made it into Folklore status in her family. Especially since, she was picking grass & gravel out of her hair for days afterwards, in the hospital.
After dinner we went to the evening Zoofari (i.e. late night at the zoo) around 7:30. Temp was 97, humidity was thick. We walked in slow motion. I was thirsty when we left the restaurant, and that situation didn't improve for the hour we spent at the zoo. We only walked the small circle, but we stopped and watched animals for much longer periods of time then normal. The ellies looked very hot. For the first time in a seemingly long time, we saw the hippos outside. The keepers were cleaning the Bongo enclosure, so I had an opportunity to ask about our MIA african Spurred Tortoise. we have 3, but so far we've only seen 2 of them. I'm always afraid one is going to be sick or deceased. Well, like magic the keeper pointed out all 3 tortoises, Fluffy, Molly & Suzie. At night terrapins will "park" themselves, with the head-opening of their shell pressed up against a large rock, or a wall, or in a wallow-hole at the base of a rock or wall or tree. So when do the zoo in the evenings, the shelled ones tend to be already tucked in for the night. We can easily see one huge hollow in the dirt near the wall next to the hippo enclosure, but apparently we CAN'T see a similar hole around behind the bongo's water hole. So that's where #3 must normally park. After a while the keepers came out with a bag of green grapes, and a little blue cow bell. They are trying to train the turtles to come at the sound of the bell. Right now, they do come (pretty well, ...if they feel like it) when they see a keeper because they associate the keepers with food. But it would be easier to shift these 150 lb. animals if the would also respond to a bell, even if they couldn't see the keepers. That was fun to watch. Not surprisingly, turtles also have some trouble eating individual grapes. =)
We think the mom zebra, (Spirit?) might be pregnant again. She is very, very wide. The adult male lion was out and chuffing when we ambled by.
It was 91º when we left the zoo, and we finally started see some substantial clouds off to the north west, a few even were showing some 'tude. Stopped at the grocery store on the way home and when we came out we could see lightning in those much more angry clouds. Unfortunately the movement is ESE, so much more eastward movement then south. And it just isn't going to get cool here until that line crosses over. And now it's midnight, and the squall line is still just skirting us to the north. Green parts are about 1-2 miles north, angry red & yellow about 15 miles north. The line of storms now reaches from (holy crap!) Roswell, NM to Kansas CIty to Dubuque to here. So it's coming, it's just taking it's own sweet (sweaty) time. At least I can hear thunder now.
Night all!