Weather Or Not

Weather remains the topic of the day, whether I like it or not.  Right now, I do not like the weather.  Unbelievably, yesterday was hotter than the day before; 106 was predicted for the foothills, a degree or two warmer than the 104-5 for the valley.  I went down to the barn a good hour and a half earlier than usual.  The time-telling shadow had not even begun to slide down the wall.  Sheila and Poppy were still lying down in their stall and all the girls were surprised to see me off schedule.  Even so, I was wringing wet before I'd finished with Inga, first girl up.  Usually I splash water on my face on the way back to the house; yesterday I held the hose over my head and let it run.  Can't imagine what that did for my hair, and didn't care.  With Clay coming, I needed to lay in some supplies so did go up to the "local" grocery store later.  Like an idiot, I bought ice cream which, of course, melted during the 15-mile trip home.  The deck plants are watered daily.  Still, while visiting Downton again, I watched the comfrey plant wilt and then droop and knew the other plants were doing the same.  I felt bad, but could no more have gone out under that brutal sun than fly.  Bessie couldn't have gone in her pool even if she'd wanted to; the water was hot enough to boil a hot dog (pun intended).  We did go to the rescue when that side of the house was in shade.  I can only hope we were in time.

Running menus through my mind and dreading the thought of standing in the kitchen cooking (literally and figuratively), I settled on a crock-pot pot roast for tonight.  Clay deserves a hot meal after the work he plans to do.  The weather man has promised a ten-degree drop in the temperature today.  We'll see whether or not he's right.