Hot Enough For Ya?

You know I have another blog, right? The one about the piggery? Well, rather than writing another whole post about the latest from that arena in our lives, I'll just link to the one I wrote over there. Here ya' go: What?! No Piglets? That title alone should be intriguing enough to pique your curiousity.


In other news, we continue to survive record-breaking temperatures coupled with high humidity here on the island. (For those who follow weather reports, consider adding a couple degrees to Hilo's high temps and you'll be a lot closer to ours out here in Pahoa.) This has been the hottest summer on record for Hilo. The 31 days of August gave us 15 that tied or broke records for high temps! And September is starting out just as bad with six of the eight days so far matching or making new highs. In other words, ugh.
 

I know we're not alone in having to deal with an outrageously extra-hot season. It's been incredible throughout the west. And at least we don't have to deal with forest fires. (Though there have been a couple big wildfires, one of which threatened a town, houses, and harbor, and closed highways... It can happen here, on the dry side). But summertime here lasts far longer than on the mainland, and there's no end in sight according to the predictors of such things.
 

Then add this to the mix: We have endured the largest number of hurricanes in the Pacific as well. At one point there were FOUR Category 4 hurricanes in our vicinity AT THE SAME TIME!!! Though the last two (Ignacio and Jimena) passed by without actually reaching the islands, huge storm waves have been pounding the coastline for weeks, along with some major flash-flooding happening. The waves have been amazing! All the beach parks have been closed for a couple weeks now, due to flooding and dangerous surf. So cooling off with a refreshing ocean swim has been out of the picture.
 

Oh yeah, and the tradewinds, which usually cool us to a more manageable range, have been blocked completely by the big storms out there. And so we simmer slowly under ceiling fans, or go somewhere (anywhere) in the car so we can blast the air conditioning way up high. Aaahh, bliss.



Well, I didn't mean to only talk about the weather but, you know, it is the main topic of conversation in these parts right now (and I had all these cool storm wave photos to share!). It affects us every single day as we make extra checks on the animals, keeping an eye on the water levels in catchment tanks and water troughs. I set up our old campstove on the lanai table and do most of my cooking outdoors so as not to add any heat or humidity indoors. I water my newest transplants a little more often as they tend to dry rapidly in these conditions. Eggs are gathered several times a day instead of just twice - don't want them cooking out there in the hot sunshine!

But other than roasting and sweltering and simmering day after day, we're doing well. I have a lot more to share with you in other posts, later. For now, go read about our piggies and I'll go see what the chickens are squawking about. Aloha!