If we were having coffee, I would tell you the weather has been cooler the past few days. Expected to get into the low 90s F today, and the breeze will make it feel cooler. There has been a flurry of nesting activity over our patio door this morning. The birds are bringing pieces of dried plant stems, small leaves, and cobwebs up to their nest.
I want to take a peek at the finished product when they’re not around.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I lowered the umbrella on the patio this morning. There is a wind advisory in place through Sunday evening. We are advised to tie down lose objects if we live in the foothills or mountain areas and to expect blowing dust and sand. Driving conditions can be affected. We are expecting cooler temperatures down to 50 F in the early morning hours. The lower temperatures are a welcome change. I have no plans to be out in the wind except a quick run to the library to pick up some books I ordered. I may go out in the morning tomorrow to feel the cool air.
The Say’s Phoebes are building a nest over our patio door again. I see them flying up and down and sometimes they stop to rest on a patio chair. They are very hard to photograph because if they spot me in the window they take off. Their nests are sheltered from the wind under our covered patio.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that the weather report said we will have thunderstorms moving through our area this afternoon. We started out sunny with a few white clouds this morning. It did feel humid. There is a flash flood warning. That usually doesn’t threaten us unless we are out driving over a wash.
We decided to make a run to the local grocery store. I did tell my husband there was a storm coming. He felt we could make it there and back before the storm hit. While we were inside the market, we heard the thunder. On our way out of the store the wind was gusting along with a torrential downpour. I pulled the car up to the curb. We were completely soaked by the time we got ourselves and the groceries in the car. On the way home we saw bolts of lightning shoot across the sky above us. I’m glad we weren’t driving over the wash. My husband enjoyed the adventure more than I did. He said it was the most fun he had in a long time.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you we had a small haboob come through Thursday evening. I first noticed the wind pounding against the screen door to the patio, and tree branches whipping back and forth. When I went outside it was like being inside a sand cloud.
That’s because we were inside a sand cloud. It was the result of the winds at the front of a thunderstorm blowing a huge cloud of dust and sand over us. Glad I wasn’t out driving. Haboobs are supposed to be rare here, but the weather report stated we could have another one if we get more thunderstorms nearby.
I learned that if I was driving when a sandstorm hits, I should pull off to the side of the road and turn off the car’s lights. If the lights are on, someone could plow into you thinking they are following the car in front of them. We usually get severe weather alerts on our cell phone. This haboob must have been moving too fast for an alert.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I took another walk the other day when it was 92F, feels like 96F, and a bit humid. All quiet on the roadrunner front but I did see a few critters on the ground that would make good roadrunner snacks.
Pallid-winged grasshopper?
They were pretty large and at first, I thought they were locusts. A little research led me to identify them as pallid-winged grasshoppers. I tried to get as close as I could without them seeing me, but they flew off. Roadrunners would have to be pretty wiley to catch them.
Pallid-winged grasshopper by Judy Gallagher
You can see from the photo above that these grasshoppers could easily camouflage themselves.
Took a longer walk today, 91 F, feels like 91F according to the weather report. Ever wonder how they determine what the temperature feels like? I imagine a weatherperson standing outside and saying, ‘Hmm, feels like ______.’
During my walks, I can hear insects buzzing but cannot always see which ones are making all the noise. The wildlife often stays hidden. Did see a couple of roadrunners today. They can pop into view unexpectedly. They usually spot me and take off pretty quick.
We had an interesting speaker at my book club meeting this week. Her topic was Jane Austen who is one of my favorite writers. Usually, this topic would have held my attention, but I spotted a large roadrunner through the picture window behind her. I was tempted to call out, there’s a roadrunner behind you, or run over to the window and grab a photo. I didn’t do it, though. I don’t think she would have appreciated it.
Roadrunner trying to keep a low profile
*If you really want to know, the weatherperson determines how hot it feels by using ‘the heat index.’ This is the temperature combined with the relative humidity. You can see the chart here and read more about it. When they say how hot it feels they are referring to shady with light wind conditions according to National Weather Service. If you are in the direct sun or there is a hot wind blowing that is going to feel much hotter.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you it was 97 F, feels like 94F per the weather forecast, at 10:30 AM today. I decided to take a chance on a walk outside. Told myself if it was intolerable the walk could be a short one. I was able to walk 30 minutes tolerably. Inspired by the NYTimes Newsletter post ‘Slow Down’ by Melissa Kirsch about slowing down and mindfulness. It talked about just observing and not feeling like you need to take a photo. Oftentimes, my photo does not capture so well what I am seeing anyway. If I saw a roadrunner, I may have made an exception. I did see a little woodpecker and watched it for a bit. I did not want to disturb it as pecked its way around a tree. First woodpecker I’ve seen here.
Ladders-backed woodpecker by Beverly Mosley on Flicker.com
On my walk it was relaxing to just enjoy the view.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that Thursday will be the beginning of Fall here. It is predicted to be 98 F that day. Not time for hot cider here, maybe some pumpkin ale. Trader Joes has lots of pumpkin stuff. I do feel a shift. The breeze here seems a little cooler. The days will be getting shorter, and it feels like things are slowing down. Our citrus trees look healthier, with sun-burned leaves gone now. The grapefruit tree is full of green fruit. The fruit looks a bit small, like large oranges. I read this could be due to the summer heat. We will see if the fruit grows more by the time it is ripe this winter.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that it rained for over 4 hours yesterday afternoon. I watched the rain while waiting in the car for my husband to finish with an appointment. It felt like a miracle. It rained more during the evening and night. My husband and I remarked to each other that we think it has been over a year since we had any rain like this. Not since we moved to the desert. It only poured down for a bit and mostly was a steady shower. The temperature dropped over 20 degrees too. Still humid of course. It looks like the temps will remain cooler next week, only in the low 90s.
The first roadrunner I’d seen since the heat wave. There were two but hard to get a good photo of both. Roadrunner on the runHawk drying out on a lamp post
Reading through my eclectic selection of books from the county library. One book I had purchased for myself, Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion.’ It still reads well after 200 years and like all her books gives a glimpse into English society in those days. The rest of my book list is all over the place. I finished ‘The Paris Apartment’ by Lucy Foley that has some good twists and was fast paced. ‘The Last Chance Library,’ a debut novel by Freya Sampson. I was drawn by the title. It is set in modern-day England. To add a bit of minutiae from the book. There was a word that stood out to me, quieten, a verb meaning make or become quiet. I would say ‘quiet down’ to noisy kids. With quieten, the kids quietened down or the mother tried to quieten her child. I just started ‘This Is How It Always Is’, by Laurie Frankel. It is a story about a family, their sons, and gender identity. I am starting to get hooked.
Now that we in the West find ourselves under the influence of the meteorological phenomenon called a ‘heat dome,’ I find an article in a series from the Books section of the New York Times entitled ‘Read You Way Through Reykjavik,’ even more appealing. It’s currently in the 50s F there compared to 101F here. The Times asked authors from countries around the world to recommend books close to their hearts. In this article, Olaf Olafsson creates a booklist including some crime fiction. He lists the author Yrsa Sigurdardottir as one of the crime fiction authors. I had read several of her books and can highly recommend her. I like reading books from around the world because it introduces me to different locales and cultures.
The first book I read by Sigurdardottir was ‘Ashes to Dust.’ The setting was an island that had been evacuated during a volcanic eruption which left many buildings destroyed and covered in ash and was based on a true event, the Eldfell eruption on Heimaey Island. In the book, human remains are found in the basement of a house thirty years later that are not related to the eruption.
I want to read a few more books on Olafsson’s list and take a look at some of the other authors’ recommendations. I can read my way through Mexico City, Lisbon, Cairo, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, and Newfoundland. That should keep me busy for quite a while.
A heat wave is making its way to California this week.
Prepare for extreme temperatures by staying cool and taking proper precautions.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you lately I find that after starting a book I am not enjoying it. I am thinking about a book I just started that sounded like a mystery, because of the title. It was described as a page-turner in a review and was on a celebrity’s book club selection list. It turned out to have a disturbing beginning and as I read on it didn’t get better. It didn’t make me want to turn more pages.
I found an article in my inbox, ‘These Memes Make Books More Fun’ by Anna Grace Lee (New York Times), that talks about ‘recommendation charts’ that guide you to books you will like. She included examples of the charts. She mentions a bookseller in Austen, Texas, Mariah Charles, who has created several charts posted on Twitter. Here are a couple of examples.
Lee’s article included a chart that lists books based on their emotional impact like which books are the saddest. Many websites use algorithms to guide you based on books you have read before. I found one that will find books based on my mood.
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 