Starting last weekend, the TV weathermen finally had some really big news. The mercury in my home town of El Paso, Texas was going to climb into the triple digit category. And they were absolutely correct. Not just a wimpy 102 or 103, but 107, 108, 109. We are talking HOT.
You can't change the weather, so the next best thing is to deal with it. Here are some ideas I've been trying out.
(1) Carry around a glass of something cold to drink all day. Try to find a drink that doesn't have caffeine or calories but tastes a little better than plain water. I make lots of weak lemonades by squeezing half a fresh lemon into a glass of cold water with ice and adding a half teaspoon of Sweet and Low. Very refreshing!
Another favorite drink is Tazo brand passion tea.
The only down side to all day iced drinks is the availability of ice. Our refrigerator with the ice dispenser in the door must have been designed to function in colder climates, because it throws in the towel and runs out of ice about midday. We are going to have to break down and buy a bag of ice to keep in the freezer for these hot spells.
(2) Get up an hour before sunrise. It is so wonderfully quiet and cool at that time of the day. You can even have coffee and read the newspaper outside. You may have to take a short afternoon nap to make it through the day, but sleep is a wonderful escape from that blazing afternoon heat anyway. Just find a spot with cool air blowing on you, and drift away. (Discourage the cat from napping with you if possible.)
(3) Go to bed an hour later. Once the sun goes down in the desert, the temperature drops rather dramatically. And in our dry climate, nighttime temperatures in the 70's are made for sitting outside on the porch or attending an outdoor event, like listening to a band or watching a movie. And if you have taken the nap described in (2) above, you won't miss that hour of sleep.
(4) Marvel at the desert plants that are thriving in the hot weather. The prissier plants I put in the garden to add color earlier this year have to be watered at least once and sometimes twice a day during the triple digit temperatures. And they still are threatening to die!
But the tough desert plants have not missed a beat, and some even act like they really enjoy the extra heat. Here are some native plants in our yard that don't seem to be phased by a few extra degrees on the thermometer.
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| Desert marigold |
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| Prickly pear cactus |
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| Mexican Primrose |
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| Yellow Bird of Paradise |
If the desert plants can be stoic about what Mother Nature deals out, I suppose we can be too.
"Stay cool!" is being heard a lot around town this week. Do you have a favorite remedy to beat the heat?
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