The heat continues
I'm an idiot.
On Monday night I decided to go for a walk. It was after 10pm, and I'll bet the temperatures were still in the 90s. I didn't feel like putting on shoes and socks, even though I knew that wearing flip-flops was bound to mess with my feet in one way or another. I did it anyway.
Usually, the penalty for walking a long distance in flip-flops is a pair of blisters between the toes. This time, I didn't seem to be wearing any blisters there, but my calves were aching because of the effort to keep the flip-flops on my feet during a brisk walk. So brilliant me, I take them off and walk barefoot. Shouldn't be a big deal, right?
Wrong. When I got home, I had two large blisters on each foot: one right behind the toes and the other on the outer edge of the heel. I could barely walk. The next day, I still couldn't walk well. I wore some cushy sandals to work, which helped some, but I still felt like The Little Mermaid (the one in the original story, not Ariel), whose every step felt like she was treading on knives.
I'm better today, though.
They had a Safety Fair at work today. Pitched some tents in the parking lot, set up a dunking booth for the managers, gave you a quiz to make you pay attention to the displays, which highlighted different aspects of safety and junk with bad graphics. There were little individually wrapped dinner mints in red bandana-print paper, mexican-themed paper, and soccer-themed paper. Whatever. And fortune cookies.
The U of U AirMed helicopter landed in the parking lot. I stood as close to the landing pad as possible so that I could feel the down-draft, which, IIRC, I've never felt before. It's powerful enough to knock over a little kid. Cool.
My bee balm has been blooming for about a week. It's not as tall as in years previous. I wonder if the soil isn't rich enough for it. (Ya think?) I have also solved the mystery of the hanging baskets. In years past, I've never been able to get my three hanging baskets in the back yard to look good. They are exposed to the sun during the hottest part of the day, so I had always planted sun-lovers. Eventually, they'd get gangly looking or stop blooming, or both, so this year I planted impatiens. Bingo! As long as I water them every morning (and lately, every afternoon and evening, too), they thrive. Occasionally I come home to slightly wilted flowers, but a quick drink revives them right away.
I mean, they're native to South America. (They grew wild in Colombia.) Of course they can take the heat, even if they prefer shade.
In the meantime, the planter right below the baskets, which has the same sun exposure, is languishing. About three years ago, I planted Oenothera speciosa, pink evening primroses, because they can take heat rather well. But they never bloomed well. This year, they didn't even provide the mounds of foliage as is their wont. I guess I'll have to find something to go there that doesn't need much water or sunlight. Good luck with that.
On Monday night I decided to go for a walk. It was after 10pm, and I'll bet the temperatures were still in the 90s. I didn't feel like putting on shoes and socks, even though I knew that wearing flip-flops was bound to mess with my feet in one way or another. I did it anyway.
Usually, the penalty for walking a long distance in flip-flops is a pair of blisters between the toes. This time, I didn't seem to be wearing any blisters there, but my calves were aching because of the effort to keep the flip-flops on my feet during a brisk walk. So brilliant me, I take them off and walk barefoot. Shouldn't be a big deal, right?
Wrong. When I got home, I had two large blisters on each foot: one right behind the toes and the other on the outer edge of the heel. I could barely walk. The next day, I still couldn't walk well. I wore some cushy sandals to work, which helped some, but I still felt like The Little Mermaid (the one in the original story, not Ariel), whose every step felt like she was treading on knives.
I'm better today, though.
They had a Safety Fair at work today. Pitched some tents in the parking lot, set up a dunking booth for the managers, gave you a quiz to make you pay attention to the displays, which highlighted different aspects of safety and junk with bad graphics. There were little individually wrapped dinner mints in red bandana-print paper, mexican-themed paper, and soccer-themed paper. Whatever. And fortune cookies.
The U of U AirMed helicopter landed in the parking lot. I stood as close to the landing pad as possible so that I could feel the down-draft, which, IIRC, I've never felt before. It's powerful enough to knock over a little kid. Cool.
My bee balm has been blooming for about a week. It's not as tall as in years previous. I wonder if the soil isn't rich enough for it. (Ya think?) I have also solved the mystery of the hanging baskets. In years past, I've never been able to get my three hanging baskets in the back yard to look good. They are exposed to the sun during the hottest part of the day, so I had always planted sun-lovers. Eventually, they'd get gangly looking or stop blooming, or both, so this year I planted impatiens. Bingo! As long as I water them every morning (and lately, every afternoon and evening, too), they thrive. Occasionally I come home to slightly wilted flowers, but a quick drink revives them right away.
I mean, they're native to South America. (They grew wild in Colombia.) Of course they can take the heat, even if they prefer shade.
In the meantime, the planter right below the baskets, which has the same sun exposure, is languishing. About three years ago, I planted Oenothera speciosa, pink evening primroses, because they can take heat rather well. But they never bloomed well. This year, they didn't even provide the mounds of foliage as is their wont. I guess I'll have to find something to go there that doesn't need much water or sunlight. Good luck with that.