It’s 4:41 a.m, though it won’t be for long. It’s dark outside and 79 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s Thursday, July 21, 2011. A massive heat wave is underway, scorching plants and stressing animals.
I consider myself lucky to be inside an air conditioned house and to have slept reasonably well overnight. Other creatures aren’t so lucky. I rode my bicycle to work yesterday. The temperature was in the mid-seventies during my ride in and in the upper nineties during my ride home. That, my friends, was a miserable ride. Especially when I’d have to stop for a traffic signal. Generate substantial heat while exercising, then stand still in a hot room and see what happens. You guessed it, sweat runs down your back and into your britches. Sweat pours off your head and into your eyes. You bathe in your own water and minerals.
Today will be the same. I think I’ll drive to work, however. I want to attend a yoga class this evening. I’d like to arrive home afterward feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. That’s not easy to do after igniting a fire in your gut and trying to douse it with sweat.
Now it’s 5:00 a.m. It’s 78.4 degrees outside. Still dark, still humid, no wind.
Time for oatmeal and a muffin.