Squirrel trying to cool off
It is ridiculously hot out there. It looks like we’re going to be hitting 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.7 degrees Centigrade) today for our hottest temperature in Portland history, and it looks like we’re also going to be entering the longest stretch of >100 degree weather in history. It’s crazy. I don’t feel like working, getting out, or doing anything. It’s all veging out for me until this heat wave passes.
My poor 9 month old daughter, with her limited body surface area, gets really hot when the weather turns like this. Her face turns red, and she gets angry. My son sweats too, although his skinniness helps him to shed some heat. He had been coping well with the heat until we hit 106 yesterday. Then he kept saying, “It’s too hot.”
Weather this hot is dangerous for the very old and very young. We don’t have central air, which makes it particularly brutal. Luckily, we bought a portable AC a few years ago. What is a portable AC, you ask? Well most windows open up vertically and can therefore use window units–air conditioners that attach to your window, push cold air in and hot air out, and drop condensation outside. If you have windows that open horizontally, however, you get to pay three times the price for a unit that is four times as heavy as a window unit and sits on your bedroom floor. It looks like a refrigerator, and it has two big hoses that protrude from the back and go outside the window. I think this is the one we have:
AC from Windchaser
http://www.windchaserproducts.com/ac_dehumid/airc_PACRWC-HP.htm
The AC instruction booklet says that the condensation is supposed to evaporate and fly out the hose. That hasn’t been my experience with this machine; we’ve had to raise the machine, pull out the rubber stopper, and drain it into a pail that collects the condensation, which we have to empty every four or five hours. If we don’t do this, the machine fills with water and turns off.
But you know something? I’m not complaining. It is HOT out there, and this machine is saving our lives. We moved both kids into our master room, and at least we get some respite from all this heat. I’m just hoping we can get back to normal weather soon.
Oh, and for those who have been following my training regimen, it’s temporarily on hold, although I’ll probably have to go running tomorrow just so I don’t fall off the program.
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I also wanted more rice than what could fit inside the wrap....
cutest squirrel picture. ever!!
I wish I could’ve seen it in real life!
Why is there so much love for squirrels? They’re essentually just rats with a bushy tail. Does the tail make that much of a difference?
“Why is there so much love for squirrels? They’re essentually just rats with a bushy tail. Does the tail make that much of a difference?”
Haha, there’s a hidden message in the form of a hidden question inside the question somewhere in this.
Ha!
C’mon, people feed squirrels in the park. I’ve never heard of anyone wanting to feed a rat. I’ve never heard anyone want to do anything with a rat except to kill it. Plus, those rat tails are skinny and nasty. Think of all the terms we use:
“don’t give a rat’s ass” [what does a "rat's ass" look like anyway?]
“dirty little rat”
“ratting out his friends”
The word “squirrel” just doesn’t fit. Although people do squirrel away their resources for a rainy day…
is your place air tight? check for leaks like near windows? heat and AC leak out in winter and summer all the time. helps save energy