I have been given the day off from my job at Old World Wisconsin. When the heat index is over 100 degrees, we expect few visitors to the outdoor living history museum. With my time, I imagine accomplishing all kinds of things, but in truth, I am simply sitting in front of a fan in the living room, drinking cold water. I am surrounded by books. “Savor” by Thich Nhat Hahn is right at hand, bringing mindfulness into my view, but what I am mindful of is the sun beating down on the roof next door, angling through the windows despite the mini-blinds, heating the air so that any breeze coming in feels like the blow-dryer set on High. I imagine all the sweet corn that I want to be eating next month shriveling up in the fields. The loss of that treat – roasted in the husk, dripping in fresh butter and seasoned with salt and pepper – is probably not as devastating as the loss of an entire crop to a farmer. Dust Bowl conditions may be just around the corner at this rate. We are all connected to the changes and conditions on this planet. How can we be mindful and act compassionately as a community? How can we become “solid, peaceful, whole, and well” and improve the well-being of the world through collective compassion? And can we cause a sea change on the planet before our brains are so baked that we can’t think at all? I retreat into distraction and immediately think of this song…
Ah dear Scilla get cool whatever way you can.. you probably know this already but one of the best ways to cool off is to put your wrists into cool water (not too cold) or under a cold tap, or just to make your skin wet as when it evaporates it cools you, damp cold towel round your neck too.. cool hugs from the UK still waiting for some summer !
Thanks for the tips, Helen, and I’ve used them all, especially when I am at work and a cold bucket of water from the pump is my only form of “air conditioning”!
I thought I might be teaching grandmother to suck eggs !!! 😉
Now THERE’S an expression you don’t hear …ever! Of course, when we were preparing Easter eggs, my mother taught us to blow the contents out of the shell and into a bowl so that she could make custard. I suppose eating raw egg has gone out of practice.
Wishing you cool breezes and healing rains. And politicians who will acknowledge the existence of global warming and DO something about it. Making a business profit always seems to take priority over the long term business of saving the planet. It’s like clear cutting a forest to the last ancient tree and THEN having the loggers look for new jobs, instead of saving our old growth and then retraining the loggers, which would have to happen anyway because they’ve nothing else to cut down.
Oh, I am so in agreement with you! Why aren’t we focusing on SOLAR ENERGY already? Gas prices going haywire, fracking up the landscape, and all that other nonsense makes me wonder why such a bunch of smart people keep beating their heads against the same walls.
scillagrace 
Ah dear Scilla get cool whatever way you can.. you probably know this already but one of the best ways to cool off is to put your wrists into cool water (not too cold) or under a cold tap, or just to make your skin wet as when it evaporates it cools you, damp cold towel round your neck too.. cool hugs from the UK still waiting for some summer !
Thanks for the tips, Helen, and I’ve used them all, especially when I am at work and a cold bucket of water from the pump is my only form of “air conditioning”!
I thought I might be teaching grandmother to suck eggs !!! 😉
Now THERE’S an expression you don’t hear …ever! Of course, when we were preparing Easter eggs, my mother taught us to blow the contents out of the shell and into a bowl so that she could make custard. I suppose eating raw egg has gone out of practice.
Wishing you cool breezes and healing rains. And politicians who will acknowledge the existence of global warming and DO something about it. Making a business profit always seems to take priority over the long term business of saving the planet. It’s like clear cutting a forest to the last ancient tree and THEN having the loggers look for new jobs, instead of saving our old growth and then retraining the loggers, which would have to happen anyway because they’ve nothing else to cut down.
Oh, I am so in agreement with you! Why aren’t we focusing on SOLAR ENERGY already? Gas prices going haywire, fracking up the landscape, and all that other nonsense makes me wonder why such a bunch of smart people keep beating their heads against the same walls.
Hear! Hear to Naomi…and you too Scilla !