Haha! Our heat index hit almost 100 today and at 10:30 pm it’s still 80 actual temperature. So one of my jobs today was to fence up the hydrangeas and it wasn’t too bad. Thinking about it was worse than doing it.
So then there’s another patch of hydrangeas along the sidewalk that were falling over so I found another fence section and you’ll love the way I connected it to the fence – fabric strips!
Haha! It was just too easy – otherwise I’d have had to ask Rick or use wire and a wire cutter, etc, etc. You get the picture – quilters will figure it out.
We made a quick trip to the field and Greta always catches up to us and rides back. We didn’t stay long because poor Keeper gets so hot. The hay is cut and waiting to be baled. Of course it is – baling always happens on one of the hottest days of the summer, right? So probably tomorrow.
Of course I had to spend time with the girls and the chickens loved the watermelon I took them – I bought another one today which I hope is better tasting. And if not it’s a cool treat for the young hens.
One last picture of Mortie – in an empty coffee box on the counter.
I took another hot selfie today that’s so bad I can’t post it!
Tomorrow is my day off. 😋
Hot here too! We had a cloudy day and it was so nice. A welcome break in the weather but now we will be up over 100 now. Love all your pictures and tales with the animals! In the photo of the white building with the quilts on the outside, are those painted on the side of the building or real quilts. It’s just beautiful. I am sure you have said in the past posts, but would love a tour around your place to see where everything is. Was your quilt store there on the property where you live?
With love,
Carol
Mary, Hot here but we have very thick smoke, and it smells. Very gray and not much visibility. Sometimes, we get an eerie yellow to the gray skies. You can check it out on AirNow.gov site. Janice Traverse City area
Janice,
Did you see the pictures this morning where the Mackinaw Bridge is barely visible? By early evening here in Lake Orion, 35 miles north of Detroit, we have the heavy smoky air now. Stay safe in this air. 🌻
Sunflower, I didn’t see those pictures. After your post, I did look at a few on-line news sites for photos. Mlive had one. I do check daily several up north webcams. One is for the bridge webcams. The link is for bridge webcams: https://www.mackinacbridge.org/fares-traffic/bridge-cam/.
This morning it is really in thick smoke. Janice Traverse City
So glad you get a day off! 🌸🌸🌸
Mary, so fun to see all the animals and watch them all getting along. I know there are days when I’m sure it doesn’t work, but for the most part they all seem compatible. I think their personalities are so interesting. Each one has a certain preference of what they like to do( ride back from the wilderness trail) etc.
Has Tim been around lately? He is sure a mystery. Love that Mortie. Stay cool! Great job on fence repair. That’s what we use to tie up our garden plants.
Pat – I am so worried about Tim – I guess I’ll put him on FB for North Iowa Missing Pets. I haven’t seen him but one day in 3 months or so – I can’t even quite remember but it was only once and gone
Mortie is the cutest cat!!
I’ll tell you about my granddaughter who lives with me. She went to community college last winter to train in welding. Got three certificates in May, came back here and got a job in a factory. 4-10 hours days Monday- Thursday. She say it 110 degrees in there all day. She comes home exhausted and ready for a shower to get all the grim off, But she’s doing it , God bless her. She wants to make a living wage to support herself and working in childcare at a day care just wasn’t cutting it. I’m proud of her. Eventually she’d like to join a union, not yet she’s trying to figure out things. One of her classmates got a job building the new Cleveland Brown’s stadium. I’m impressed. Surprisingly classes were small but it’s all hard work. She’s 25 and a tiny bitty thing, but this is what she wants to do. I think she likes working with her hands.
So… my 93 degree day could be a lot worse.
Carolyn, congrats to your granddaughter for her commitment to make a better living wage. Our niece went into welding and its a great career. Wishing her a great job ahead.
Best not to push too hard in this heat wave! I am not outside except to water the flowers. I tyry to get a few minutes of sun on me. We have had no rain for days.
I am ready to rock and roll on quilting a quilt today. That’s my goal. I will try to stay away from the puzzle. Been too wiped out in the evenings to do hand sewing even. I did turn a hem in a pr of capris that had come undone Just one leg came completely free.
Your flowers are beautiful!
Very hot here the last two days also which is unusual for this area. Hot again today with the smoke from Canada added. It’s supposed to be sunny but, it looks overcast and the sun peaking through looks orange.
My sister and I planted a perennial garden by our church last week. Not the best timing as I’ve had to water every day. However, winter is too long here to complain about the heat of summer. Just have to enjoy.
The photo of Mortie has made my day, so darned cute. I am so sorry you guys are having such hot weather. It is the normal here in Arkansas but we are used to it. Hopefully it will cool off there soon. It will cool off here about mid October or first of November. I love your fence fastener, quilters are resourceful folks.
Hi Mary, We are having the same heat here in NE Ohio. I try not to complain as this is my favorite time of year, some days the heat index is a little too high. I laughed when I read your comment on baling hay – growing up on a farm, it seemed like it always was the hottest day of the year when the baling was done. We always wore jeans and long sleeves to keep from getting all scratched up lifting balls on the trailer! Good memories of farm life. Enjoy your off day! ❤️
Our Michigan kids are not liking the 90 + weather. Our son works in a cabinet shop with no air conditioning. Pretty well wipes him out by the end of the day.
We used to walk beans (our own). Jay went to work and I had a crew that walked with me. And then after supper we would go out again! Horrible job. When our kids got old enough to walk with me, they hated to see the 4th of July come because then the bean walking started. We used a hoe and pulled all the weeds. We didn’t spray them with round up. It was a hot sticky job. A shower sure felt good when we got home.
The weather will be more normal next week and that will be great.
Jay just went for his two mile walk while it is cool, then we will go to SF to return some shoes and get another watermelon at Costco! Yum! Think I will suggest breakfast at Hy vee. We share the big breakfast.
Jays gives the orioles jelly in the morning and they clean it up by supper time along with a wood pecker, robin and blue Jay! Then the feeder comes in for the night. Don’t need any bandits on the pole!
Mortie sure does find crazy places to sleep. The chickens are thrilled with your treat! Have a good one and enjoy the ac!!
We’re the same here as so many others – high heat, advisories and wildfire smoke so not enjoyable to be outside for me. Only thing good is the brilliant color of the sunsets.
Waaahhhh – I want a Greta to ride around my yard in the golf cart!! That is so cute. She obviously feels safe and loves the view. I use fabric strips to tie up my tomato plants. I keep a container of them in my sewing room as they are handy for tieing up washed throw rugs, etc.
Funny you mentioned Mary you’re not a jewelry person which neither am I but most of my ads here on the blog after I click to go to the internet to read it are for James Avery jewelry. They close easily for me.
Thanks for your blog, Mary. You keep it real when this world seems so upside down.
I had a heat stroke when I was 13 while detasseling corn on a very hot and humid day. So I cannot tolerate being out in this heat. I do as much as I can between 6 am and 9 am each day. I tell everyone that I would be much happier if it was winter and I was in my sewing room watching a snowstorm.
Love the picture of Mortie in the coffee box. I found Oliver sleeping in Caitlin’s stroller in the garage yesterday – on top of a goose down comforter. Crazy cat!
Here’s to cooler weather.
Gloria – I wait for summer all year so I’m not going to complain – I love sitting in the porch with the ceiling fan on high! I do remember mowing in August and getting the chills – heat stroke?
Mary, I did purchase a couple items at the library’s garage sale yesterday and I will be listening to CD’s of all types of music, it will take me a while to listen to every cd in that zip up case but that was fun to think about and I purchased a kindle, so I will have to learn about that product too. There were even books for sale as well, and soon they will have a book sale, I think they have 4-5 of those each year as well. It is more important than e er to support our local libraries as the funding support is cutting back significantly. Marshall’s library is a city-county one. Funding is going to get cut the council and commissioners are telling the public. A library is a very important cog in the wheel of every day life. Oh, and I seldom use wire, I use bungee cords which wouldn’t work for your fence, but zip-strips are my friend for sure and you can use a scissor or olfa blade to cut them apart. It is going to be a hot day again I today, stay cool everyone!
Roslyn, ‘Lucky you’ was my first thought but then again it is your winter so maybe you are in a cold snap. Oh well.
Mary, Have you ever given the dogs a kiddy swimming pool. Keeper might love the cool water to lay in.
It seems most of the nation is in a heat wave which isn’t leaving anytime soon. The Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota/Canada have several fires (started by lightning) which is almost impossible to fight because of being so remote so that’s awful. This makes the air quality hazardous in areas. Stay inside and sew – good idea. Have a good day everyone.
Janet – the dogs have two pools and I tried to buy a third yesterday but none to be found – I wonder why.
This heat has been horrible totally across the entire country. I heard a meteorologist explain the why but all in all it’s convinced me I don’t want to go to hell if I can’t take the heat here! 6am and it’s 85 and only climbs from there. Add the humidity and it’s miserable. Mary, I don’t know how you do it — I’ve resigned myself to indoor activities — actually have gotten back into my sewing room. Cleaning it up one project at a time. Made a really cute casserole carrier yesterday. Because of the heat and humidity we’ve been getting some really nasty thunderstorms in the afternoon/evening. Doozy yesterday – power flickered the whole 9 yards. My poor dog hates it even with her thunder shirt on. I’d love to leave it on 24/7 but it’s too hot to do that to her. Mary, I love how you remind us we need to be mindful of our animals in this heat. No news for me either! I’m over all the nonsense. Stay cool everyone!!!!
Lynette – I give cold water to the chickens 3-4 times a day – and thinking about what I could freeze that they like to eat – maybe even bread? It’s not so bad working outside unless I’m in the direct sun. Today I have no outside work except animal chores –
And another use for fabric is discovered—fencing, who knew!
I love all the animal pictures; even tho it is hot, they all seemed happy. You are so kind Mary and do extra to make your animals’ lives better. Mortie looked so cute in the coffee box, as did Barney hanging out with the chickens.
Enjoy your day off tomorrow. 🥰
Jeanie – my animals, like your kids, are the most important thing in the world to me and I’ll do whatever I can to keep them happy.
Here in Murchison, Victoria, Australia we had an overnight low of minus one (32 Fahrenheit)! Love the photos of your place Mary, keep them coming.
Roslyn – Happy Winter to you!!
Just read Jo’s comment – yes, the quilting makes all the difference for me, too. I’m concentrating on what I’m doing and listening to music or a movie, tv show, etc. For me, it’s usually something on Acorn or Netflix. If something comes on in the way of news when I go into the living room, I leave — I don’t need to fret about something I can’t control. It also helps that we take Melatonin & Magnesium Glycinate – Melatonin helps with sleep, but Magnesium helps with sleep, anxiety and stabilizes energy. It was noticeable after a couple of weeks that we both felt better taking it. But the best thing is quilting!
Mary, your home looks like it is in a story book! So sweet. It was 100 here also. All my plants got a “big drink” tonight. I don’t do well in the heat, even as a teenager I would have heat stroke. Don’t work too hard in the hear! I never knew chickens like watermelon. Still learning at my old age!
Mary in So. Cal.
I just love seeing how well all your critters seem to get along. You do good work, Mary, and it’s reflected in those animals.
Wow – that’s too hot to be out in it, but chores need to be done. I loved the pictures of the hens picking apart the watermelon – I bet they loved it! Morty made me think of the saying “If it fits, I sits”. He looks like a sweet cat. Our day was hot, too – had to start the air at 9:30! We usually wait as long as possible, but we knew it was going to get too hot & the house wouldn’t be able to cool down enough. It ended up at 103, & tomorrow will be the same. I remember a number of days growing up here when the temps reached 110 up to 115 (that was a record for us) & it wasn’t that big a deal to me, and those were the days when we sat in classrooms that were unheated & no air in summer. Funny how things change. I’m glad you’re going to take it easier tomorrow — it’s way too hot to be outside much! Take care!
Deb – yup, this is my day off except for animal chores. Tomorrow it’s back to mowing. And the dew is so heavy I have to wait till mid day.
So hot here in Michigan 🥵 It’s midnight here and 81*
I can’t handle heat very well. Things outside get done early morning or they don’t get done! We have a heat advisory and air quality warning because of the wildfires. Crazy times, weather, politically, just the world in general. I thank god for sewing it keeps me sane, keeps my mind peaceful. And what better to do on a hot day! Stay cool everyone and enjoy your Wednesday ♥️
Jo- tomorrow I’m
Staying in the AC and sewing – I can’t stand to listen to any more news!!!
Mary, the best kind of news to read these days is these comments – the everyday lives of you and your blog readers.
I’m doing more knitting and crocheting than quilting nowadays, trying to use up my yarn SABLE (stash accumulation beyond life expectancy). I’m making hats to donate next winter, and little 18” square blankets for a cat rescue group, which sends a blanket home with each adopted cat.
Dot – SABLE! I love it!! I’m going to a quilt shop today to add to that – haha!!! I agree about the comments – I love reading what everybody is doing and sewing / the best way to enjoy my coffee in the morning