Wow, this last week has been hot. Every day has started out in the mid-70s and topped out at 100+. When I go outside after supper to feed the horses, the air is heavy and oppressive. This is a typical summer in Texas; July and August are just miserable. I feel sorry for every creature that lives outside.
I am fortunate that my day job doesn’t require me to work outside much. When my husband and I get home from work in the evening, our dogs are just lazing around in the shade, sleepy and lethargic. I can’t blame them. Even the cats are scattered about sleeping through the intense heat. Without the ability to sweat, I don’t know how cats and dogs survive.
Horses, on the other hand, sweat profusely. Every day, even through the hottest days, they stay on their feet, grazing. I am blessed with lots of trees in my summer pasture. Although horses will stand all day in the sun just to eat juicy nibblets of grass, they will gladly graze in the shade when it’s convenient. You know it’s hot when the horses have visible salt marks on their back from all the sweating they do in the heat. I feel sorry for them. Every few days I hose them down to rinse the salt and sweat off. It seems to make them happy as they search for the best bits of grass in the fading light of the setting sun.
Typically, weekends from early spring through mid-summer are full of activity; this year especially, due to all the rain that we received. The rain is a distant memory now. We haven’t had a good rain in a couple of weeks. It seems like it’s been longer than that, though, because the grass is turning brown and the ground is hard.
We had been working feverishly on the weekends trying to get caught up on mowing and weed pulling, filling holes and sundry other things. Last Sunday I spent just a few hours tractor mowing, but the heat really got to me. For days afterwards, every time I went outside (even for just a few minutes) I felt bad; almost feverish. That is not normal for me. Usually, I tolerate the heat very well. This weekend, I have no desire to be outside. I am turning my attention to the inside of the house. It will probably be that way until the heat breaks sometime in September.
There are plenty of things to keep me busy inside. I can do my spring cleaning now! It’s time to organize my office. I let things pile up in there, and it is a bit overwhelming. I have decided that I need a bigger bookshelf. I think I want a corner unit with shelves and cabinets. Good luck to me finding just the right one.
I forgot to tell you about the cobbler I made with the peaches I got at the peach festival. I wanted to make a cobbler for my family that was visiting from Pennsylvania, but the peaches didn’t ripen in time. It seemed like the day after my sister, niece and family went home the peaches were perfectly ripe.
I decide to make two small cobblers. One to eat, and one to freeze. The peaches were so sweet and juicy, I just added a little coconut sugar and cinnamon to them. I topped it with a fabulous gluten free crust. As it baked in the oven, it made the house smell wonderful! Just like a country home should smell.
After the cobbler was baked and had a little time to cool, I served it to my mom and husband with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt. It was so amazing. A perfect dessert at the end of a long day. When my sister comes back this fall, I will surprise her with the cobbler that I froze. You see, she bought those peaches, but never got to enjoy them. I can’t wait to share it with her.
As a matter of fact, I am going to share the recipe with everyone in my August newsletter. Peaches are in season, and it’s the perfect time to share some good food with friends and family. If you are signed up to receive my newsletter, the recipe will come straight to your inbox. If you sign up in the next few weeks, you will receive 3 bonus recipes that would go great with a summer get together. Who could beat that?
What are you doing to survive the dog days of summer?
Psalms 128:2 You will enjoy the fruit of your labor, How joyful and prosperous you will be!
