The weather this summer was crazy.
First, it was hot. Really hot. Too hot.
Oh…and of course, we can’t forget the humidity. Just walking outside to get my newspaper in the morning meant a shower when returning indoors.
On July 22, the temperature was 82 degrees with a dew point in the mid-70s at 7:30 a.m.; and a haze spread across Churchview Road! Isn’t it nice to know we hit a record of 104 degrees that day?
The parks in Upper Milford were essentially empty, especially during the daytime. The sliding boards and swings were scorching for children to play on. Even the sand was too hot for them to play in.
People usually jog or take walks past our house using the road in the neighboring cemetery; but not this summer. There was no one. No bike riders. Nobody walking their dogs. No children on skateboards. No one walking past our house to the for their mail.
I guess I would be almost safe to say it was like…a ghost town(ship).
Even cooking dinner became a decision—cook outside and we would need a shower when done, or cook inside just to heat up the house we’re trying to cool with the air conditioner. What’s a person to do? Go out and let someone else cook!
I would just hide in the house until evening, when it was “cooler.” Then, as the sun went down, it was time to water the flowers and our new apple trees. Or run to the store.
Of course, one good thing—the only good thing about the high heat—the grass didn’t need mowing. Although, I would prefer to see green grass rather than brown grass...it just looks better.
Then, the second week of August, it started—much needed rain. And more rain. And still more rain.
And, as if we didn’t have enough, Hurricane Irene came for a visit at the end of August. During her visit, she gave us downed trees and power lines, 10 inches of rain in a bucket on our deck and wet basements.
Driving throughout the township, common sounds heard were those of generators running and chainsaws cutting up fallen trees. Parts of Upper Milford went without electricity for days.
Let’s not forget the earthquake several days before the hurricane. People in Vera Cruz and Zionsville had items fall off shelves and break, along with cracks in walls and ceilings.
Maybe autumn will be better.
And all too soon it will be winter. Then we’ll be wishing for warm weather, again.
I wonder if a scientist somewhere could figure out how to take the summer heat and save it for winter, and take the cold of the winter and release it in the summer.
Aah…it’s nice to dream.
