I’ve got on my walking shoes. And long pants. And look what this rain has done for my lawn!
When I’ve mentioned it, other people have told me this happens each year. Not that I’ve noticed. This is the first summer it’s made an impression on me, anyway.
By “it” I mean this: We don’t have cold water anymore. You turn the handle with the “C” on it, and you get a liquid that is only slightly, if at all, cooler than the blood in your veins. I’ve been thinking about writing about this for some time, but I know a lot of y’all are numbers people, and I couldn’t quantify it. I couldn’t find my old thermometer that I used to use for developing film at home. The ideal temperature for developing Tri-X — which is what I usually used — was 68 degrees Fahrenheit. I don’t know how warm this water is, but I assume I’d have to greatly reduce development time to use it without cooling it somehow, with a likely loss of image quality.
And it’s cloudy! I love cloudy…
(I found one on Amazon, and it was pretty cheap, but I didn’t want to spend even that for one blog post.)
Anyway, have y’all noticed it? And is it news to you, or did you notice it years ago? (And no, I’m not talking about the usual slight warming we get every year, but something so far beyond that that I think maybe the “hot” is also on — but it isn’t.)
I might be more conscious of it because unlike most members of the fam, I’ve been here all summer (except for a few days in Memphis, which ain’t exactly the arctic.) My wife spent a week in Alaska with a bunch of friends from the all-girl high school from which she graduated. One daughter and two of her children have spent a good bit of time in Canada, when they weren’t in New York. Her other daughter lives in Asheville, which is like being in a different hemisphere from here. Another of my daughters just came back from a week in Boston and an island off the coast of Rhode Island. My third daughter has stayed closer, but did spend a few days in New York. My boys have stuck close to home, although one took his family to Costa Rica. That, of course, was a great trip, but not the same as these journeys north that turn me a bit green, while of course I’m happy for my loved ones.
Right now, though, I’m able to look back on that envy with shame, because now I’m as blessed as anybody.
Can you believe this weather? It’s felt like fall, or maybe Amsterdam, where we spent a week last summer. It’s truly wonderful. Sure, those Parisians I wrote about recently might complain that it’s getting up to 80 today, but you and I know that 80 is a treat at this time of year.
And we’ve got several days coming in this same balmy mode. it’s not going to get above 90 until next Wednesday.
And I am grateful. That God should reward me (and my neighbors) this way after my grumbling (a bit) about missing out on the Great White North, or about the lack of cold tap water, is a glorious example of His infinite forgiveness.
The last couple of days, I’ve even resumed walking outside. And I intend to do it again today. I can’t wait…
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