Summer's last blast? (hopefully...)

The forecasters say it will be 112 degrees here today.  Oh, joy!  But, after this weekend, temps will be coming down.  We will have morning temps in the 70's (it is 86 degrees already this morning, on our porch at 7:55 a.m.) and daytime temps in the very low 100's.  That's a BIG relief!  And, it is a big relief for our overworked air conditioner.  Our compressor is 12 years old and our indoor furnace/fan unit is... 17!!! We will have to replace both of these either this year or next.  We can't take the chance that they will break down after another year.

I'm staying home again today after being totally wiped out yesterday.  Hubby is having tummy troubles this morning, so he may only work 1/2 day.  Our daughter, who is also a teacher, is on day 17 of her BAD, BAD head cold and our granddaughter has pink eye!  OYE VEI!  What next?

So, once we get through these "dog days" of summer, at least the temps will be a little easier on our old, tired bodies!   :-)

Cheers!
~Cheryl Ann~
Oh, how I wish it was like this SOON!  Snow on Highway 74, last February, hubby and I!  No, our daughter took the photo.

SICK ALREADY!!!

It's only been 5 days of school and I'm already sick.  I have some horrible stomach virus.  I had a student yesterday morning throw up, so he went home.  After lunch, another one had a bad stomach ache.  I drove home with a headache, chest pains, and a general blah feeling.  After dinner, the virus really hit me.  It's not like me to come home and collapse on the couch.  I even sent hubby out to pick up some dinner, but I didn't really have an appetite and only ate a couple of bites.

...sigh...So I'm already using one of my 10 sick days.

Is SUMMER coming to an end?

We have monsoonal moisture here today.  Yesterday it was only about 100 degrees, but with a LOT of humidity (bad hair day...)More of the same is forecast for today, then, by the weekend, it will be 111 (or so).  I am enjoying all the clouds.

But after that, temps start to go down, especially nighttime temps.  We'll be in the 70's starting next Monday.  And, daytime temps will go down too.  So, basically, we ALL just have to get through the weekend!  Wish us luck! :-)

The dog days of August

A couple of weeks ago the temps rose to 113, 114, 117, and 118 here.  We are now "down" to about 106.  But, next weekend, back we go to the "teens", as the weather forecaster calls them.  Ugh.  Really?  I'm so sick and tired of this heat and humidity...I could SCREAM!

It was down to about 79 degrees Friday night/Saturday morning, so I got out and did some chores outside.  Our son worked on his yard all day (even in the heat).  Since he only drives down here on weekends now, they are either going to rent out their house or sell it.  He has a 5 hour drive from Fresno now every weekend.

Not much else is new.  It DOES look like I have a nice, little (HA!  25 kids) class this year.  They certainly aren't the HELLIONS I have had for the past 2 years.  Good thing, because I was REALLY getting burned out.  I'm going to enjoy this group, as the 2nd graders look like another class from HELL.

I'm going up to the ranch this morning to visit my remaining 4 horses.  I need to give each and every one of them a hug and let them out for some exercise.

Have a good week.
Cheryl Ann

Back to school and RIP Lucille

School has started up again, but I only had 2 days with kids this week.  I actually went into school every day this week.  Monday I got my fabric bulletin boards up and Tuesday, of course, we had a 3 hour meeting (...yawn...).  Then, we all had Wednesday to finish our room, sharpen pencils, pass out math books, and get desks ready.  The kids came Thursday and Friday.  I have 25 and they all seem like nice kids this year!  They certainly aren't the HELL RAISERS I've had for the last 2 years!  OYE VEI!  I play music for them during the 10-15 minutes right after lunch recess, when they come in all hot and sweaty, and only a couple of them have asked for water!  It also gives them a chance to sit and cool down before we continue on with our math lesson.

I lost Lucille yesterday.  She wasn't eating and her back end was wobbling and the ranch owner called me and said it might be time for her to pass.  So, my vet came out and put her down.  She was diagnosed with Cushings, she wasn't eating, and she was wobbling.  It was time to let her go, so I did.  She was the ONLY one of my horses that I ever rode.  I could probably ride Sunni...he trusts me, but, at this stage of my life, why take the chance?  I'm happy just to have them and enjoy being with them.  I don't ask them for anything.  He has been saddled and ridden by my cousin, but then he crow-hopped when her cell phone went off and she refused to ever ride him again.  Oh, well...sigh...

Lucille and I, last year.  She was a good, old girl.  We think she was well into her 20's...

Kids will be outside until it is 130 degrees? This is INSANITY!

So, one of our local school district, Palm Springs Unified, has decided that when it gets to be 130 degrees, kids won't be allowed outside.

130 degrees?  Really?  You've GOT to be kidding!

Look, I've lived here 40 years now and it has NEVER been 130 degrees.  One July, about 17 years ago, it was 128 here in Palm Desert (and that is in the SHADE.  Temps are always taken in the SHADE).  I remember because our air conditioner compressor died that day and it took the crew 3 days to install our newer, better system, which is still running.  I basically sat in front of a fan with a bucket of ice water while the guys did the installation.  And, I was 17 years younger than I am now.  Actually, the last two days here this week, the switch on our air conditioner breaker has flipped and it goes off in the afternoons.  So, we walk out and reset the switch and we are back in business.  We'll have to replace the units again, inside and out, before we retire, so that will probably be this fall.

But 130 degrees?  Kids outside until it is 130 degrees?  Oh, and it's for "test scores".  REALLY?

Here's the article:

http://www.kesq.com/news/heat-precautions-taken-for-kids-going-back-to-school/34730726

Here's the gist of it:

     PSUSD is in the process of adopting a heat policy. 

They have a ranking system for different temperature ranges with specific instructions per range.

Friday would be classified as intense heat. That's when temperatures are between 105 and 129 degrees.

At that point vigorous activity is cut down and kids are allowed outdoors for recess in the morning.

There is one step above intense heat and that's when temperatures are 130 degrees and above. At that point all outdoor activity is cut off. 

Other school districts have similar protocol. 

Desert Sands Unified School District said it's up to the principal to make a decision each day on the extent of outdoor activity. 

Coachella Valley Unified School District has a similar ranking system to PSUSD. 

I hope the parents rise up and complain LOUDLY.  This is endangering the lives of their kids.  PERIOD.

My school doesn't allow the students to even drink water on hot days before coming back to class after lunch!  I complained to the principal and asked him to "revisit" this decision.  Otherwise, I lose 30 minutes of class while each kid gets 1 minute at the inside water fountain.  I can't teach and THEY can't learn when they are hot.

Why is everyone being SO STUPID?  It must be the heat.

Final fire update...hopefully!

I headed out EARLY yesterday morning up to drop off my 5 bags of horse pellets at the ranch before the HOT weather hit.  I left the house at 7:30 a.m.   On my way, I passed where the motor home caught on fire (it had been towed away, thankfully) and I stopped and took some photos.   I came to the command center, at Paradise Corner, at Highways 371 and 74.  There were still a LOT of trucks there, but I did see 7 trucks from Kern County heading home.  I briefly followed them down the road to Anza, where they pulled over and waited for the 2 stragglers.  I was able to get a photo of them going by later that morning.  I didn't see any smoke at all yesterday and apparently the crews were doing "mop up" operations.  

 This is the spot the motor home caught on fire.  Somebody said propane tank?

 Some kind of liquid metal that melted.

 Charred vegetation next to the highway.  The fire quickly spread to 500 acres, up into the very rugged mountains with NO roads.  I did see a road that a fire crew hacked out and bulldozed.

 If you enlarge the photo, you can see the area on the hill where the fire burned.

5 of these trucks from Kern County were going home!  Thank you for all your hard work!