Weather whinings

I'm working at accepting what is. I really am. I can't change much except my attitude, and that can make a huge difference in how anything is perceived.

But I just GOTTA whine a little about the weather. And then I'll stop. Promise.

It is so friggin' hot, and it's barely mid-May -- still a month away from official summer. We hit 103 degrees yesterday, and the forecast calls for 105 today, 106 tomorrow. It's 11 a.m. and already 97 outside. (And for all you folks in the land of humidity, it's only 16 percent humidity here...I know, you have no concept of humidity that low.)

We went from mild temps in the 70s and low 80s to 100, completely skipping the usual 90s ramp-up, and it makes me wonder what we're in for the rest of this summer. Last year we had one little stretch of 107-112 in early July, and that was pretty much the high for the rest of the summer. I'm concerned that we're going to be in for a very long, hot season, and already CalFire is posting red flag warnings for fire danger.

They inspected a lot, if not all, of Tehama County properties this year for defensible space, and I think everyone in our subdivision was cited for something. We needed to trim tree limbs to 10' of the ground and whack all the grasses down to the ground, and the four-man crew that spent a big chunk of three days doing that just left, leaving the property looking better than it ever has. We also have a nice pile of mulch and a stack of firewood to show for it.

Already we have fires burning -- the first in Tehama County was last week and burned more than 1300 acres before it was contained. It is scary this early in the fire season, which will stretch until Nov. 1 or so, until the first rains.

The land has turned to dry, gold, and crispy, and it is no longer mowable lest a spark ignite a grass fire -- thus the requirement that it be mowed to the ground. We have no lawn, although others irrigate to have green grass, and intend to landscape this summer, but with rock and mulch and native plants that are very drought-resistant. It may take a while, but that's the plan. It should blend in well with the natural landscape, and it makes sense to us.

The garden is getting water, though, and greening very well, although a tomato plant disappeared again. It is probably a gopher. I'm going to have to entice the cats into the garden, I guess, in hopes of eliminating the little thief. He's taking MY food, darn it, and I do love fresh tomatoes.

And that's my whine. I promise not to write another one until it gets over 112.