Triple digits.

That's what the television weather wizards have been calling the temperatures now: triple digits. It was 109 degrees on Monday night, and the 'triple digits' for today will be over 110. Can we really tell the difference between 109 and 113?

I went outside a little while ago to bring a cold watermelon rind to the chickens. They were nestled in the dirt underneath the bushes by the back porch. They watched me walk down the steps, Scarlett cooed and clucked a little bit, and she was the only one who came out to see what surprises I was setting down on the grass.

After having spent the entire morning in her nesting box, Scarlett wasn't too happy with the watermelon rind. You made me come out of the cool dirt for this? One watermelon rind? She pecked at the rind a bit, then went back under the bushes with the other hens. Mind you, watermelon rinds are one of their favorite things. But I guess in this heat, nothing less than a full ear of fresh corn will do. I bet that the chickens will change their minds later on and the watermelon rind will be history.

Very quiet outside.... not a tree is moving in the air, not a bird is singing. Not a tractor is running, nor a mower, not even a power-tool can be heard from the house they're building further on up the road. The pecan trees are filled with barn swallows and sparrows, but they're all just out there resting in the shade of the branches. Last night as the sun was going down, we heard a symphony of bird-song out there in the yard.... sounded like hundreds of birds. If there is indeed a heaven, that must be what it will sound like.... countless choirs of little birds, happily singing.

On Monday night, we had friends over for iced tea and cake...... J & J, J & G. Just the six of us, and it was the perfect group. Lots of laughs, good conversation, and of course we did our best to solve some of the world's problems. Whether the world will take our suggestions remains to be seen. Before the month is over, if and when this heat ever breaks, I'd like to do another pot-luck dinner and invite more of the neighbors. "Come and join us for an August pot-luck dinner and tell us how you got through the triple digits of July."

It seems to me that we've had hotter-than-normal temperatures since May. The month of April seemed as warm as June, and every month since then has felt like the middle of August. We were hopeful for a perfect summer, after going through one of the coldest winters in the Texas record books. My husband just finished fixing up all the winter's damage to the barn, and he has yet to solve the plumbing puzzle of the cottage....... and I'm hoping that this coming winter won't wreak havoc on all of my husband's repairs.

This is Texas, for goodness sake. I can understand the heat. I can bear the triple digits. What I'm having a hard time with is even the thought of one more horrible winter which will result in unknown plumbing surprises. As in: Surprise! The temperature dropped to 13 degrees over-night! Surprise! The plumbing gnomes have frozen your pipes!

Oh well. One day at a time. No sense in wasting worry on the coming winter when we're smack in the middle of summer. Right now, we're going through the hottest of the heat waves. The bright side of that: reading, reading, reading. I don't know how some people can get by without books. Bad television can zap your soul, but a good book can let you fly.