Hot August Days AND Nights

I love summer, but August is the hottest month of the year here in the mountains! I dread the long heat waves and non-stop air-conditioning we have to use! Already this month we have had several heatwaves reaching from 105 to 111 degrees. Our animals and plants definitely had a hard time on those days! This weather is not typical for Northern California, but in our neck of the woods it is. We definitely have four seasons here in the mountains. Even with the heat of summer, I do prefer the changing seasons. Unlike other areas in California, the nights do not cool down in high summer. Hot August nights are traditional here!

This morning I sit out on the back deck with my morning cup of coffee and do a little reading. I have our dog Zoe and a few cats here with me enjoying the fresh morning air. Sometimes a few peacocks will turn up looking for food. (We have a family of wild peacocks on the property too!) The only sounds are the chirping birds perched high in the pine tree next to our deck. We are surrounded by western White Pine, Ponderosa Pine and Black Walnut trees in our backyard. I can see some deer foraging around the backyard for breakfast (something other than black walnut leaves!). An occasional dog barks in the distance. Looking out past our balcony, I can see the blue horizon against the dark ridge of mountains. Very serene and an ideal setting for meditation!

August is a busy time in our family, we have a birthday and multiple wedding anniversaries. For some reason, everyone decided to marry in August! My husband and I recently celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary on the 11th of August. (Coincidentally, we always have the Perseids meteor shower to commemorate the occasion!) How time flies! Typically we celebrate by taking a day trip down to Bodega Bay to escape the heat and enjoy a stroll along the beach. We gaze out at the Pacific Ocean in all its vastness. If we’re lucky, we will hit it on a nice, sunny day, not too hot. Most of the time, it can be very foggy along the coast. I love watching the seagulls soar high in the sky and land nearby looking for food tidbits. Nothing like the scent of the sea to get rid of all your cobwebs! Afterwards, we have dinner at the inn where they filmed Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” what great atmosphere! After a glorious day at the beach, it’s back home to our family of animals and wildlife.

Sometimes I sit outside again to enjoy the sunset from our back deck. If it’s going to be a show stopper, the late afternoon sunlight will spread across the sky in shades of peach, orange and red. Very dramatic. More often, the light blue color of the day slowly morphs to the lavender/blue of early evening. In French it is called “L’Heure Bleue”, a beautiful, romantic time of evening! As the light fades, the first stars of early evening start to appear. Here in the mountains, the sky is rich with millions of stars. And the only sounds to be heard are the nightbirds singing high in the trees. Soon the raccoons will be abroad to steal the cat food left out on the deck! The dog days of summer will soon give way to early autumn and harvest time. Time enough to prepare for the change of seasons…again.