Summertime & the living . . . .

See those Jades peeping thru?

Most summers, I turn on the oscillating fan at the foot of my bed a few times in August when we usually get a week or so of really high - for us on the Wet Coast - temperatures. This summer, I've used it a lot. I think the day before yesterday was the hottest day so far & I even tried out the "Hurricane" setting. "Hurricane" is great for a quick cool down but waaaay too loud, cold & fast for more than a couple of minutes!!
Usually it cools down enough at night to keep the old basement cool enough without a fan but this week, it's too hot in here to think. It just doesn't get any time to cool off. I'm glad this only happens for a week or so so I think I can cope.

My Petunias are packing it in & I've had to move all my hanging baskets to the back my patio because they're cooking in plastic pots. Spider plant babies that lived in a jar of water on a window sill for several years, got planted this year. I found an empty space in the fern trough at the back of the patio where they'd get lots of light but no full sun. They didn't do much until it got hot & suddenly they're TEN times bigger!! This morning, I noticed they're now sending out stems with babies in all directions. They seem to love the heat. So does my old Jade. It got chopped almost to it's main stem this year since it got really leggy. And I chopped it back hard, then put it into it's favorite place under the patio table with lots of light but no direct sun. And tossed all the cuttings into the long fern planter & a pot of Blue Fescue. I should've known better .  .  .  most of the cuttings took root. Some of them, tossed in the side of the Blue Fescue pot in full sun, are growing like stink!!
All in all, I have to say it's very pleasant out there all morning till about 2PM and again in the evening after 7PM when the sun goes behind the trees. So, I sit outside with my sock knitting or spinning or read a book as much as I can while I can. Retirement is actually not too bad if you have enough money to live on.