This is better?

Tuesday is bringing a little relief from the heat, but not much. I see that we have a 75° day at this early hour; that’s only a 5° difference between the inside and outside temperatures. I’ll run the fans anyway and maybe that will lower the temperature inside by a degree or two before the sun rises and we start all over again.

It’s definitely a “Bakersfield morning”, with crickets singing like crazy. Back in the day; I always equated extreme heat with Bakersfield. That was before I knew about places like Blythe, Phoenix, Red Bluff, Corning and Orland. And we had a record setting day yesterday with a high of 110°. Corning, just to the north of us by about 5 miles had a record setting 117°. I know…that doesn’t sound right to me either. Was that just a grandstand play by Corning to get some attention?

The cat is outside somewhere, probably sleeping in some cool grass. Yesterday afternoon, I had invited her in and she was somewhat reluctant, but I picked her up and took her inside anyway. Then, about 5, she wanted out again. I opened the door and she felt the air. The decision was quickly made and she retreated back to a cool corner in the family room, not to appear again till much later that night. Even at 9 last night, she was slow to exit once she felt the heat.

We saw an interesting sight last night. I think it was about 9 and not quite dark. I was walking through the kitchen after letting Boo out and some movement outside caught my eye. It was the bats and they were having a field day, flying low and swooping back and forth over the pool and through the air over the ferns. That flight path took them right past the kitchen windows; within inches of the glass! There must have been at least two dozen of them…but how do you count them when they fly so fast?

I’m heading to the park at an earlier hour this morning; 5:30. That will get me there at 6, when the gates open, and I should be able to get in at least 8 miles before the temperatures make it uncomfortable to maintain a fast pace. Even in this heat, you can do longer training walks if you slow down, but I’m still interested in speed.

What’s in the news? Nothing good. But I do think I see a way for the Democrats to make some headway this fall. (Being generally inept, they haven’t found an issue to concentrate on.) They might try something simple. Such as, “We care about you.” Since it’s so obvious that Republicans don’t care about the average American, seeming to care should be easy for the Democrats. No, they won’t, not really…they are politicians after all. But they can easily make it appear as if they do.