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Image by dougsmi via Flickr

I have to tell you, it is the most beautiful day outside today. The sun is shining, it’s 90°, the birds are singing and we have a slight breeze. I couldn’t have ordered up a more perfect day. Yes, it’s just a tad warm for my taste but everyone else will love, love, love it.

This would be a perfect day to spend out fishing at Beardsley or up at Pinecrest. Speaking of Pinecrest, when is the last time you watched a movie out in the open air? Believe it or not, Pinecrest is celebrating it’s 76th Season of Movies Under the Stars. Though the summer days are warm, the evening temperatures can turn chilly. Be sure to pack a sweater or light jacket just in case the kids start feeling a little cold in the evening air. Please keep this in mind when making your plans to attend  “Movies Under the Stars”.

My handy weather station says it’s currently 88° at 12:10 p.m., it’s risen 3-degrees in the past hour. In fact, as I write this post, the temperature just dropped back down to 87°. I don’t see it getting above 100° today in Twain Harte, time will tell.

We closed up the house last night and turned on the air, which we don’t use all that often — unless we are expecting a very hot day. It stays pretty nice up this way most of the summer. The air condition is used only for about a month (not straight but on various days).

Image via Wikipedia

We also take precautions to keep the house from getting too hot. I plan to make Chicken Nuggets for dinner, (the kind Chick-fil-a serves), for dinner. I’ll fry them up in the deep fryer, on a table set up outside. I also have a small convection oven, that I use outside during the summer months, it’s the perfect size for warming up things that we can’t cook on the grill. The grill also has a side-burner, which we can utilize.

Everything is set up to keep the house at a comfortable temperature, without breaking the bank. I don’t “do” the summer heat well, so anything that will help keep our home comfortable, is explored during the summer months. I try to keep sliced deli meats on hand for quick sandwiches, along with organic fresh fruits and veggies. They make a healthy, easy on the go snack for the kids too.

I was happy to find our turkey had returned yesterday and appears to have stayed the night. He’s here again today. He seems to love it here pecking around the yard, preening his feathers, soaking up the sun on our deck and partaking of the water trough.

How do you stay cool during the hot summer days and nights?

Well, other than the snow that fell in my dreams last night, so far so good. It sprinkled rain on and off for most of the day today, it wasn’t until about an hour ago, when it really started to pour.

About an hour previous to the rain picking up intensity, the fog had rolled in. The air was heavy with moisture, it was eerie. It made me think of what it must have been like in that movie, “Gorilla’s in the Mist,” with Sigourney Weaver. The fog has lifted slightly, so it’s not quite so dense, still, motorists will want to slow down some — the animals can’t see much better than us in this fog. Hitting a deer anytime of year is not fun.

It’s 47 degrees currently. So far we aren’t getting any thunder and lightening and so long as the temperature stays near where it is, we won’t have any snow to worry about either.

Do watch out for the deer, we have quite a few young bucks running around out there. They still have the fuzz on their antlers — and they are so beautiful. We have a chat together almost daily. I just can’t get enough of them. They are very alert right now but inexperienced and most are just now getting out on their own.

I understand now that the mothers were showing them safe places to go for an easy meal just a few weeks back when they were all stopping by in groups. It was almost as if the mothers were making their introductions.

I’ll be back when I think of more to babble about. 

Thanks for reading – I’d love to hear about your deer encounters. They are such magnificent creatures.

I just took a peek outside and the fog has lifted for the most part, which means the fog is probably pretty heavy around Sierra Village, as it appeared to be traveling East. Of course Jamestown gets more than it’s fair share of fog at times, too. Drive safe!