Thursday, September 3, 2020

Hot August

 

August was the hottest month we have had so far this year - and also the smokiest. There have been so many wildfires burning all over California, most of them caused by dry lightning, that the air quality became extremely poor in most of the state - and many parts of the country since the fires in California haven't been the only ones. Half of the month we stayed inside with the windows and doors shut because it was too unhealthy to venture outside. Two of the fires are burning in our county and we had many evacuations orders which were all reduced to warnings (which means be ready to evacuate any time). The fires are close to the Russian River which is an important water source for us, and in order to keep enough pressure for the firefighters to battle that fire we were all asked to conserve water as much as we can. I stopped watering my garden (except for the veggies) and once again felt relieved that I had the foresight to plant a drought tolerant garden. So far I haven't lost a single plant, and two nights ago we even had a little rain. The past few days have been foggy with much better air yesterday. However, the weekend ahead is supposed to bring another heat wave with temperatures up to 106F - I hope the garden can take it.

I missed spending time in the garden. I was lucky to get in some hikes in our beautiful Regional Parks, some of them with Kaefer. We went early in the morning to avoid the midday heat and enjoyed nature, saw wildlife and had some good conversations while hiking the trails. She is leaving in less than a week, my heart is heavy, but I also know that I will be okay after a few days when I know that she has arrived safely, has moved into her flat and hopefully doesn't have to quarantine too long. She will be tested at the airport and the result will be back within 48 hours, so hopefully she can go outside after two days.

Work at the high school started the first week of August. It has been rather quiet in the beginning and I could finish some of the things that haven't been done since March when the schools closed down. The school year started on August 17th and of course it's all distance learning. It is very strange to be back on campus without any students being there. This week we're distributing textbooks which is a huge undertaking (we will be done tomorrow evening) for almost 1600 students. Even though I felt bone tired every evening, it was so nice to see the students again. Sure, we were all wearing masks, my colleague and I were working behind Plexiglas, but nevertheless, there suddenly was life on the campus. I hadn't expected that I would enjoy these five days so much.

In order to stay sane I knitted a lot - several hats and socks and I also finally finished the sweater for Kaefer that took forever to knit up (mainly because I had to unravel parts of it again). I was quite busy with my Etsy shop selling socks and photo cards which, of course, was very welcome, too. The positive and the negative pretty much balanced out this month.

14 comments:

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Good to read this post and know that all is well with you despite the devastating CA fires. Also good to read that your garden has been able to survive with less watering. I hope that things continue to go well at school.

Elephant's Child said...

I have been watching the news about your fires. My heart aches with and for everyone who has felt the impact.
Hooray for a balance between good and bad.
Of course you will miss your precious girl, but I hope everything goes smoothly at this important starting point.
Hugs.

My name is Erika. said...

Sounds like a tough month, almost like our winters that end up with too much snow. We were hot too this whole summer, and we're in a drought here also. Love your photos.

Red Rose Alley said...

Oh, these fires in California are so scary. One was in Jess' area, but it was on the outskirts of her town, in the mountain area. It's finally being contained, but she was supposed to move and had to wait awhile because of it. I'm so thankful her family is safe. Looks like you've been doing some knitting, Carola. That hat is so charming, and it looks like Fall. Love the colors. Those red bushes are beautiful, and that sunset is just lovely. It's nice that you got to spend some time with your daughter and go on hikes. Sounds like you had a pretty good August. Wishing you happy September days.

~Sheri

Jeanie said...

Your August sounds busy and a bit sad with the departure of your daughter and inability to be able to be outside because of the smoke. I'm glad your home is safe and hope it stays that way. I'm sure your knitting was beautiful and love your ByeDon sign!

Mae Travels said...

Fire and virus at the same time seems just too much of a burden, but there's nothing to be done. I hope your fire season is ending, and that your new school year plans will go smoothly and healthfully.

be safe... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

Those fires are horrifying to me. It must be so difficult to be trapped inside away from even going into your own yard because of the smoke. I hope the firefighters are able to get them under control and out soon.

Love all the photos. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Best wishes for safety at your school.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

It must be a very difficult situation for you. Dealing with COVID-19 seems insignificant when compared with the threat of wildfires having the capacity to destroy your home. And of course you have faced the dreadful possibility of this before so I can barely imagine the level of stress you have to endure. On top of it all the air quality and the intense heat compel you to stay indoors. It all must be quite awful and I hope that very soon conditions improve. Stay well and stay safe.

Lowcarb team member said...

Here in the UK we have seen the news about your fires, so dreadful and scary.

I did enjoy seeing your mosaic/montage of pictures.

Stay safe and well.

All the best Jan

Kokopelli said...

Beautiful photo collection! Made me smile during these times! I especially love the hat in the second row from the bottom. Such beautiful colors! And I see some canning done. Thanks for visiting my blog and stay safe with the wildfires. Scary!

Stevenson Q said...

Dearest Carola, thank you so much for this beautiful mosaic of beautiful memories and things that you shared for us. I feel very sad to hear that the heat is excruciating on your side of the planet because I also kept hearing from my older brother in CA that they will not go outside this Labor day not just because of the COVID but even so, the heat! We also get very hot days here which is very unusual for September but at least the air here is more humid than dry. Wish you well and please stay hydrated!

La Vie Quotidienne said...

I really like your collage of the month, a great way to tie it all together. I just checked out the clothing line you suggested and I love it...everything is so unique and the colors and patterns are marvelous. Thank you! I signed up to get their newsletter.

DeniseinVA said...

We have had a hot summer here but my goodness, nothing like you have had. I have read all about the fires and do hope you all get some rain to help out. Great collage!

Iris Flavia said...

Nice to see you! Oh, I missed out on your posts...
Glad you´re OK and that is a cool (haha) way to put a month online!