Gimme Shelter

I’ve always had a natural (or maybe unnatural) aversion to summertime heat. Unusual I suppose but I can’t help it. Shade is one of my favorite things. Perhaps it’s mental - some sort of sweataphobia. Or perhaps it’s hereditary – some lurking dermis gene of my northern European ancestry. And considering today’s 95°F (32°C) weather in Omaha compared to say Oslo’s 70°F (21°C) or Copenhagen’s 61°F (16°C) or Belfast’s 59°F (15°C) perhaps there’s some truth to this theory. In any case, history has proven that my threshold of temperature tolerance rests precisely at a moderately uncomfortable (to me) 79.5°F (26.4°C).

That being said, every summer I seem to find myself not only out in the heat but working in it…hard. Three summers ago I rebuilt the deck on our home. This task consumed about six weeks in sweltering summer sun. By my recollection I worked in full sun in temperatures that ranged between 90 and 98 degrees farenhight. And although I received some much needed and much appreciated help from several neighbors, I swore it would be my last home construction project.

Two summers ago I completed a few minor things on the deck stairs and railings and added accommodations for torches and rail lighting and then since it had been a year and the deck floor boards had a full battery of seasons to dry cure and shrink to their final dimensions, I sanded the deck floor smooth and added a waterproofing sealer. This took a couple of weeks and the temperature always hovered around 100°F. Again, my last project.

Last summer I moved a bazillion cubic feet (probably more realistically sixteen cubic feet) of soil, rock, mulch, an old tree stump and several hundred pounds of retaining wall stones. This was rearranged to create a nice planting area and space for a new aspen tree. And then I suffered 97 degrees in full sun to remove and replace some deteriorating siding on the back side of our house. Later I walked down the street to a neighbor who runs a small remodeling company and hired him to finish the job. Finally I had wised-up.

This summer I again chose the hottest weekend of the year to relace the two year old rope lites that nestle neatly below the top railing of our deck. 

The sun today was straight overhead and pounding down upon me. What was I thinking?

I did at least check with the weather service in the hopes of toiling outside on a summer day with some cloud cover. According to the weather service, today's temperature is 95°F but unfortunately due to the  with the high humidity it "feels like" 112°F. And of course the weather service also claims that "right now" Omaha is under a "partly cloudy" sky.

Partly cloudy...really? By the photo above I would say "not so much". And the photo below captures the nature of todays cloudiness in its entirety. At least I think that's a cloud.

Next summer I think I'll work in the basement - or in Oslo.