Oppressive heat

Photo by Brandon Cooper, Realpics

This is the hottest time of year in Fort McMurray.  It's also the time of year when the days are longest, and the nights are fleeting.  As we near the summer solstice, the northern part of our province is in the middle of a sizzling heat wave.  Well, sizzling to us anyway.  Daytime temperatures have been above 30 while things have stayed above 15 overnight. At 6:30 am, it is 21-degrees already. A Facebook acquaintance is in Egypt right now, where it was 47-degrees on the beach yesterday.  I really don't want to imagine what that would be like.

Our house has no air conditioning.  In the first decade of living here, there were maybe a handful of days when air conditioning might have helped.  However, those days seems to becoming more frequent with the passing of the years.  We try to manage the heat in the house by closing windows and blinds and strategic use of fans, but it is still 28-degrees this morning.  It was 30 when we went to bed last night.

Birdsong Studio is similar but worse.  By mid-afternoon it was stifling and getting work done was next to impossible.  I finally broke down yesterday and paid $300 for a portable air conditioner.  It made a world of difference in my ability to paint.  Birdsong has gone from being an oven to an oasis.

Our bodies (and minds) adjust to what Mother Nature throws at us.  However, the adjustment takes a toll.  I'm finding that I need to have short naps (2-5 minutes) several times throughout the day to get my mojo back.  Looking ahead to the next few days, it is more of the same with some showers thrown in. Things will begin to moderate closer to the beginning of July.