The Sultry Days of July

Mid-July is turning into late July, and these long, hot, sultry days are taking a toll on our running.  The humidity has been high and today was Day Four of a heat wave that has stalled across the southeast.  Not that I am complaining, for Highlands is surely cooler than anywhere else in this part of the country.  Morning temperatures have been in the upper 60s and have climbed into the 80s by the afternoon, but we are still managing to keep temperatures manageable inside our non-air-conditioned but well-insulated house by simply opening windows at night and closing them late in the morning.

The weather map this morning showed triple-digits for places like Clemson and Greenville, and even 95 in Franklin, but omitted cool Highlands, which historically originated as a summer escape from places like Charleston and Florida.  In earlier days, Floridians would arrive on Memorial Day and stay all summer in this place advertised by the Chamber of Commerce as "Air Conditioned by Nature."

Still, it takes a little while to become acclimated to warmer temperatures.  Wednesday I had planned to run some more intervals but after only two of them, drenched in sweat and finishing slower times than last week, decided to abandon the effort.  Today was even hotter, and again I dialed back my expectations and completed only seven miles.  We had a visiting runner from Sarasota, Florida, a lean and tan woman who was obviously better acclimated to these conditions than we are.  She was ecstatic to be able to run in temperatures in the 70s.

We are continuing to work on going through Martha's Mom's house so that it can be put on the market.  Every day, we realize how much more needs to be done, but everyone is pitching in and progress is being made.  There are many sweet memories being discovered, but there are also many overflowing closets and attics and basements.  I shared the difficulty of this process with a friend who had gone through the same thing, and she put it well when she replied, "We know how hard, interesting, sometimes enlightening, sometimes sad, sometimes comical the process is of going through all those years of your parents' lives."  That is so true.  And it is also a way of finding some closure,

The garden is doing very well this year, as noted in previous posts.  We have had two or three tomatoes, but the rest of the crop are stubbornly green and don't seem to be in a hurry to ripen.  We have had plenty of summer squash, and this week I spotted the first zucchini, which will be ready to pick in a day or two.  Zucchini seem to double in size overnight.

I have also been eyeing the Blue Lake Beans. ( I have always loved the name of this variety, which comes, I discovered today, from its origins in the Blue Lake area near Ukiah, California).  When I returned home from running this morning I had my "first picking," and it looks like there will a second and a third in the next few weeks.  Martha's back-up garden on the deck is also producing and they are ready to pick.

What could be better after a seven-mile run than fresh green beans?  I will sauté a little diced onion in some olive oil, add a slice or two of bacon, and cook them until tender.  Barbequed chicken, rosemary roasted potatoes, and corn bread will round out a quintessential summer dinner, eaten out on the deck.  If the afternoon thundershower will delay its scheduled arrival by an hour or two.