And the Heat Goes On....

It only reached 105 yesterday. Blessed relief.

No rolling blackouts yet.

A young man called a local radio station and laughed at us Texas weenies. He said he was just back from Afghanistan, and it was reaching 135 there (and I presume, no air conditioning). So humans CAN survive higher heat. We just don't want to.

Just as extreme cold can cause streets to buckle and push up, so can extreme heat. Hope my street doesn't--it was paved about 6 months ago and is wonderfully smooth. Our new light rail system just opened to my part of the Metroplex is running at 45 mph instead of the usual 60 because of concerns about warping rails.

Water is the other consideration. The severe drought conditions virtually destroyed Texas produce this year, at a loss of billions. Most of our fresh produce is coming from miles away (except, as I said, for the okra and black-eyed peas.)

Will the rains come? We don't know.

About a quarter of the area water supply is unavailable because zebra mussels invaded Lake Texoma and they aren't releasing that water downstream. Fort Worth sells its treated but not potable water to surrounding cities to use for irrigation. I know a few families who have set up the gutters and tanks to collect the rainwater for watering. I bet we see more of that.

And you folks thinking about moving to Texas? Stay home. The steady flood of people into the state makes the politicians happy. It also means less water to go around. It is hot and messy down here, and the legislature stripped our schools of so much money this year it is a wonder our upcoming kids will even be literate. Stay home.

At least another week of this high heat to go. I think I have my second wind now.

We usually get a good rain sometime between Aug. 20 and Sept. 10.

Hope we do this year.