Dealing with this intense Texas heat is more important to us every year..
While I have never loved hot weather - at ALL - Louis Dean used to enjoy it.
He would tell me all the time, "I hate to be COLD!"
And I would say, "I can't stand to be HOT!"
Monday he nearly got too hot and too tired.
We had meant to go to town and do our errands but that didn't happen.
He had got out on the side deck finishing up a project and started feeling woozy.
I kept him inside the camper where it was cool - and that's when I noticed water dripping over the couch in the pull out section.
Son Dean to the rescue!
There was a problem with the drain on the AC unit and water had accumulated on top of the pull out!
A LOT of water!
Dean came right down - in the hottest heat of the day - and got up there and figured out what the problem was!
It was 90 degrees in the camper by this time so Dean brought down a super cool mister fan and set it up for his dad on the front deck.
It is Ryobi fan that sits on a 5 gallon bucket full of water and it is AWESOME!
Louis Dean has been drinking his PRIME and his water and loved getting to be outside for awhile.
Ever since we arrived, I have been whacking up denim and it dawned on me that I could make a curtain in the front room to cover our storage bins and trash cans!
(I added another skirt to the group this morning and I am loving it!)
I hope to wind up my whacking tomorrow and start being Susie Homemaker again!
So far I have done next to NO housework!
Monday afternoon Dean took a load of clothes down to their place and I went down to the laundry room and started it.
I have been really bossy but Louis Dean is a good sport and he knows I have his best interest at heart!
I do NOT want him to end up in the hospital like he did this time last year!
Sunday I had cooked a good pork roast with veggies so I served that up again but added company mashed potatoes and some good honeydew melon with it!
Dean and Sherry have a LOT of beautiful critters down here!
I made my rounds Monday evening admiring all of them.
This is my favorite horse!
He has blue eyes.....
Mother and daughter here - and all three are rescue horses.
Pretty!
No meanies around this time!
I love the ducks!
Who doesn't love goats??
Mama cat to the litter we adopted from.
Hello!
What are YOU looking at??
My favorite 'mop!'
The 'hoard' of pygmy goats!
I love this guy so much!
He and Sherry have been so wonderful in inviting us to be here and even put down some pretty deep roots. They have blessed me beyond my wildest dreams and I think the world of them.
Tuesday morning Louis Dean woke up fit as a fiddle and did not even remember anything about his heat stress from yesterday until I told him - and he said, "Oh, yeah!"
We read our Bible and had our coffee and a bite of breakfast and then we were off to 'town!'
On our way out, we went down and I hung out the laundry we did the night before and started one more load. He drove me past the apiary to see how the bees were doing and then past the big tank with these gorgeous cannas on the island Sherry built!
We made several stops including a Goodwill and Home Depot, Marshall's and Ross for Less.....
before we landed for a late lunch at On the Border!
When I snapped this picture, I thought, "This is my very own Harrison Ford lookalike!"
I'm no one's lookalike that I know of!
That salty margarita was really good!!
We did an Aldi and then an HEB run - with Louis Dean sitting in the truck while I ran in and out and then headed for home.
Sherry was out on her tractor and came down so we could check on our bees.
It was still triple digits and I could not bear the thought of suiting up completely - so I opted to wear the jacket and veil I bought recently. So much cooler and less claustrophobic.
I've seen YouTube videos where the beekeepers wear things like this so I felt kind of daring to be doing this myself!
Sherry and I inspected all four hives and we were relieved that none of them were over run with small hive beetles! One way of deterring them is to place a sheet of Bounty paper towels on top of each box.
I forget exactly how this works but you can see the scraps of paper towel that the bees have dragged out of the hive. The beetles were scarce in three of the four hives and only a few in the last hive.
See how the bees are hanging out by the entrance?
That's called 'bearding' and if it's in the spring - it could be a sign of overcrowding and possibly ready to swarm. In the summer , it means they are cooling off the hive.
Sherry and I were impressed with how hard the bees were working and we are thinking we just might be able to harvest a few more frames of honey this weekend.
There's still enough sunflowers and horse mint for the bees to make honey, however the bitterweed will be blooming soon and we do NOT want bitter tasting homey.
We will be doing another inspection on Friday to see if it's possible to harvest a little more honey for 2023!
I close tonight's journal entry with this father and son photo of them working together on Louis Dean's lawnmower,
I love both of my Deans and I love how THEY love each other!
I love this post, you are living in such a beautiful place and the goats are so cute. How good that the three horses are rescues, and interesting about raising bees for honey and that process bees do to cool the hives.
ReplyDeleteYour denim curtains are adorable, and so country!! I now forget how it was that you got rid of those beetles. I know it was something else than the paper towels. Whatever it was, it did the trick! I love the black & white horse and the black and white Roosters!
ReplyDeleteThe denim idea is cute! Hides a lot of things. Sweet animals and gorgeous cat!
ReplyDeleteFor a minute there I thought you were at George's in Waco drinking Big O's! lol
Your son sounds wonderful...
hugs
Donna
that last photo, The Two Deans! I love it. Priceless. you are blessed to have them in your life for sure. the jealous side of me comes out each time i see all your CRITTERS! i would so love to see them, but not that heat. yowsa!
ReplyDeleteBob has done the same as LD. he used to never get hot or complain about heat, loved to be out in it. now he even gets hot in AC and in the car constantly complains about being to hot. It was always me to hot. I don't like extreme heat or cold. the curtain idea is a fab idea... using the belt loops is perfect
I remember those Texas summers….Florida is not to be explained this year. Hot.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda. I love that denim curtain. That is so creative. So glad that you guys are enjoying your time in the country, even with the extreme heat. Enjoy the rest of the week. See you again soon!
ReplyDeleteKeep being bossy...men need us women to keep them in line. Loved seeing those pretty cana lilies. Hope you get some more honey!!
ReplyDeleteWhat would we do if we didn't have such loving, helpful and definitely resourceful sons? Love my guys as much as you love yours.
ReplyDeleteDean really makes your life at the Ranch an oasis.
Keep an eye on that man of yours. Hydrate and Love..we want him around for a whole lot longer. Terrific post, as usual.
Sue
Linda, Your bees are so interesting. I think there's nothing Dean and Sherry won't tackle. They are hard workers. Seeing Dean and LD working on the mower...I just thought, wow the mower will go twice as fast now. LOL The animals are so nice. I like the horses too. Not to be an alarmist...but there was something on the news warning about children drinking Prime. Too much caffeine, not sure it would hurt LD. Stay cool. Blessings and hugs, love you guys, xoxo, Susie
ReplyDeleteLinda, I love reading and seeing pictures of your country life!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Susie, there is new information about Prime being "over caffeinated" gatorade type drink.
Regular gatorade or even Pedialyte is better. Take care and stay cool!
Is this heaven? No, it's the Ranch!!
ReplyDeleteLoved all the pictures and how fun to get to be up close and personal with all the farm animals. The closets I got to an animal was riding a horse on the carosole at Disneyland with two of my daughters and Tristan.
I'm trilled that Louis Dean and enjoy so much of life dealing with his condition. We left Don "home alone" while we went to Disneyland, and he did great. We left my cell phone with him so we could text and send pictures as we did things. I prepared his three meals and pills so he was good! Also had a friend in the complex on call if Don needed something. It was a wonderful day.
It's hard to stay inside when it looks so pretty outdoors! But it's HOT here and I'm having to stay in more than usual. Love all your photos, especially father and son!
ReplyDeleteThat idea with the old jeans is awesome. What a clever way to hide the storage bins. I have never liked being cold and the heat never bothered me at all until I got old. Now I don't mind warm but if the humidity kicks in I'm done for.
ReplyDeleteliving life to the fullest, you guys are the cutest. i love the denim curtain, what a GREAT idea and it looks so good!!
ReplyDeletethe pork roast meal looks amazing, served with awesome sides!!
i enjoyed the farm animals, that horse id gorgeous!!
be careful in that heat. we have an outdoor family reunion today and i am nervous about being outside for 5 - 6 hours!!
I love how you cherish your family and appreciate their help and support. Families can be such a blessing!
ReplyDeleteYou look smart in your bee-keeping outfit. Also sitting with your supersize Margarita. That made me smile.
I want to show my DH that mister fan. Sounds like a good idea!!
Keep cool if you can, Granny M