THE HEAT IS ON.

This will be our 5^th year of living without electricity - without air conditioning. And truly, it is not so bad. There are always some rough spells during the summers – a few 100-degree days that are just pretty nasty. But when you work outside all day, coming back to a chilly, air-conditioned house makes the outside seem that much worse. Once your body gets acclimated to the temperatures, when your body does the work to cool itself, it is not so bad. Really!THAT BEING SAID – we are having a hard time adjusting this summer. I can’t exactly pinpoint why, but I have my ideas. First, the past couple of mild summers have spoiled us. We didn’t have 100-degree days, or 100 percent humidity, in June. This past week contained four consecutive scorchers with choking humidity. No thank you. Second, we have never had a summer with a baby before. We have to consider him when deciding whether to tough it out in the blazing sun to try to finish that last row of garlic. Jesse and I can deal with a little bit too much sun or heat, but it’s not just about us anymore. Plus, when it comes specifically to ME, I have a tiny, sweaty, hotbox of a human suctioned onto me for most of the day. If he isn’t literally attached to me, I am wearing him in a carrier or holding him or sleeping next to him– which is just so, so unpleasant when it is this hot.But of course, as I write this, the heat wave has broken, and we have survived, as we always do. The heat has brought on the tomatoes, corn, and melons, and we employed some new coping mechanisms: we went to the creek every day, I fanned myself with prefold diapers while nursing Further, we closed up the windows and curtains during the day to try to preserve that little bit of cool air from the nights, and we only went into town for ice cream once.- Hannah.