Hello all,
Sorry for the break in blogging but as you may realise it has been extremely hot, and still is so where we are. I have just been outside to take the temperature and it is now 44C (111.2F). We have had no relief since my last post with temperatures being as follows;
Thursday 45C (113F)
Friday 45C (113F)
Saturday 43.9C (111.2F)
Sunday 44.5C (112.1F)
Today meant to be 42C but already 44C (111.2F)
Tomorrow meant to be 40C (104F)
No cool change expected here until Sunday if we are lucky.
We have not been doing much so there is not anything that I can post about. We spend a lot of time in our pool cooling down and staying in our wet clothes. This comes in handy when I have to prepare dinner in the heat.
I worked last Thursday and Friday and all day for two days were spent sitting in the lounge area with the airconditioner on high and three fans going, trying our best to stay cool. I had one six month old and a one year old in care.
Although we humans and our animals are surviving the poor plants are well and truly struggling. They are getting cooked from the heat on top of them. Sun dried vegies anyone?
Even the computer is playing up today, it insisted on posting some of my photos sideways!
Drooping and burnt silverbeet...
The capsicum that I have pulled off to reduce the stress on the plant. They were all burnt anyway.
A burnt Capsicum.... I have now covered these with an old sheet which is helping.
The cucumber vine is kaput...
The leaves on the pumpkin vine have been burnt. The good news is that it is starting to re-shoot at the base of the vine....
These zucchini's were under shade cloth but still have been extensively burnt...
Grapevines have suffered as well with the vines having burnt leaves and the grapes transformed into sultanas.
Even the orange tree has sustained some damage.
Water restrictions in South Australia are going to be made tighter soon and they are saying we have only about seven months worth of water left in the Murray River. Scary thought. My daughter has linked about this on her blog.
The leaves on the pumpkin vine have been burnt. The good news is that it is starting to re-shoot at the base of the vine....
These zucchini's were under shade cloth but still have been extensively burnt...
I am hoping they can be resurrected after the heatwave has passed.
Grapevines have suffered as well with the vines having burnt leaves and the grapes transformed into sultanas.
Even the orange tree has sustained some damage.
Water restrictions in South Australia are going to be made tighter soon and they are saying we have only about seven months worth of water left in the Murray River. Scary thought. My daughter has linked about this on her blog.
So I will be spending the rest of this week doing as little as possible and trying to stay cool. I am really feeling it now as there has been no relief for soooooo long. My energy levels are sitting on zero.
Geez, I feel like a softy, how did our ancesters survive without airconditioning? ( not that ours is providing much relief). We only have what we call the swamp box on the roof. Luckily we haven't had any power outages yet.
Stay cool where ever you are, or warm for those that are experiencing the severe cold.
x Tania
Gee! Tania you are suffering with this heat and your poor veggies. We have been having high 30s but nothing as hot as you guys.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be able to function in that heat I think I would lay low in the bath. I was shocked to hear about upto thirty elderly people have died from this heat .....terrible
I have the same feelings about myself. Today was just the low point I guess, then I hope we will feel better? I guess I knew today would be slightly cooler which I suppose helped, but...
ReplyDeleteMum told me about the scorced plants when I talked to her last night.
I washed my cooler shorts and put them on half wet, which I thought wasn't such a bad idea after all lol.
ReplyDeleteThe restrictions up our end don't seem as severe this year, maybe there is more they can do later.
Tania, I feel so bad for you and your garden. We are in winter, too bad we couldn't just trade a bit of your heat for our cool. Please be safe, and I hope your weather cools soon. TTFN
ReplyDeleteYou are'nt a softy...Things heat wise are different...The global warming has made everything so unpridictable and extreme.
ReplyDeleteAnd due to the heat having been unrelenting it just wipes you out.
Today here is warm thus far but it is Humid....We don't get humidity...But it is!
pOOR garden....Hope you get a day even of relief soon
Hang in there friend it will get cooler soon.
ReplyDeletedaisymum
According to meteorological records, our ancestors never had such heatwaves! And they didn't worry about major rivers drying up. They also lived simpler lives, which doesn't mean easier, but both their wants and needs were fewer.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope you get your relief soon. We had 3 days in the 40's- the first I thought 'That wasn't so bad', the second I could feel myself slowing down and by the third I was over it. I really feel for all my South Aussie friends and aquaintances.
Oh my goodness, I feel so bad for you all, (I have been complaining about 33.C heat here in NZ.) Thinking of you! xx
ReplyDeleteOh my! It's bad enough here and we're only in the 30s!
ReplyDeleteGood to know that Autumn is less than a month away now, hey?!
Wow, that is hot! Weather that hot sounds miserable. I am sorry about your garden plants that are taking a hit, you have put so much work into your nice garden too. I hope you get a break in the heatwave soon!
ReplyDeleteHi Tania I've called back to let you know I have passed a blog award onto you so come on over and check it out :)
ReplyDeleteSue
Great blog Tania. Have you thought about wicking beds with shadecloth over the top for the veggies? We get similar temps here peak summer and mine look as fresh as a daisy using the wicking beds. Another bonus is you are only watering every week/fortnight!
ReplyDeleteYou can find out how to make them on my blog under the "how to" links. Hope it helps!
Tania,
ReplyDeleteIt's so odd to read how hot you all are here in the states. Our heat pump went out on the coldest day of the year for us,(naturally). It was 29F. We have a fireplace so we all slept in the living room.
I hope things are cooler there by now but probably not with the fires going on.
Is it humid where you are or a dry heat?
Linda
Welcome to my blog Linda.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a dry, arid part of Australia. Not much rainfall per year. We do however experience humid weather from time to time and it is not a pleasant experience.
Tania