The Night Air

This is the time of year that I enjoy.  The night air is very cool, and I can open the windows in a locked position, and air the house out over night.  Even though the day is warm, the overnight temperatures drop enough to cool the house off.  Some days, the house stays cool enough that the air conditioner does not come on until after noon, even sometimes well into the afternoon, depending on the ambient temperature.

Also, because of the trees in my yard and my neighbor's yard, I have shade for my patio in the early evening. This allows me to sit outside and enjoy the evening air, especially when there is a breeze, because that makes the air temperature very comfortable.

When I first bought my house, and Mack was alive, I felt safe to sit in my back yard until the wee hours of the morning.  Or, I might wake up in the middle of the night, and not be able to go back to sleep, so I would sit in the back yard and listen to music or read. And of course, Mack joined me.  He really liked to be outside in the back yard.  So much so, that I would sit out in inclement weather, just to be outside with him.  I do not do that anymore. I do not have a dog, and the character of my neighborhood has changed enough that I do not feel as safe outside late at night.  Isn't that sad?  But it is real. 

But, I still like the fresh night air. 

 

Natural Cooling

So, one of the characteristics of living on the South Plains is that at this time of the year, when the sun goes down, the air cools very quickly. One of the consequences of this is that if you can open your windows, the night air will cool your house without the use of air conditioning.

Some several years ago, I had purchased replacement windows that allowed me to open them easily. I can open them in a "locked" position, so it would be very difficult for a thief, robber, or general mayhem instigator to enter my home through a window.

This has been a boon to me. I love sleeping with the fresh air coming into my home.  When I first bought my home, and Mack, the dog I so loved was still alive, I would frequently sleep in the back yard on a lounge chair on these wonderful cool nights.Mack loved to be in the back yard, no matter the weather. I relied on him to warn me of potential problems, and he did.  Unless the mosquitoes bothered him he loved to be outside in the yard. Without a dog to warn me of trouble, and with the increase of crime in my neighborhood, I no longer feel safe spending the night in my back yard. I will stay out late, sometimes, but I will not sleep in the yard.

Well, tonight is one of those nights. It is very late, but I am thankful I can open my windows in a locked position and the fresh air will blow in.  It is cooling the house. What a blessing.  I love the fresh air of West Texas.

Grey and Cool

It is the middle of September.  We have had another hot summer, although not as hot a dry as last year.  Recently, we have had some grey weather, with rain and cooler temperatures. This has been a blessing. The cooler weather is good, and it makes it possible to open the windows and air out the house.

I am enjoying the cool day. 

Refreshing

We are experiencing a brief cold front: it blew in Friday night but Monday is supposed to hot again.  But yesterday, last night, today and tonight have been pleasant, refreshing. I stayed in last night, and listened to the Tech game, and was pretty tired afterward.  Tonight, I went kayaking, and feel so refreshed, I believe I will sit out, after a while, for  a while.

It has been nice not to need the air conditioner and to have the windows open, so we can have some fresh air inside.

Hot!

It's summer in Texas.  And it is hot.  As my favorite local radio sports talk show host says, this is what happens in Texas this time of year.  Why do people act surprised?

I have not been opening the windows before I go to bed, lately, because it has been too hot, and I did not need to let the hot air in.

This morning, I awoke about 3:40 AM and could not go back to sleep. I checked the temperature and it was 77°.  I opened the bedroom windows, but it did not help much.  The air was too still, and too humid. The bedroom became passing cool, but not the rest of the house.   However, the low this morning was 73°, and I left the house open, and was able to enjoy the cool morning air in my back yard.

For a while.

By about 9:30 AM, it was too hot to sit outside, and too hot to have the windows open. This has been the case recently.  The house just does not cool off much overnight due to the heat. The A/C bill is high, but I deserve the comfort.

 This afternoon, a storm blew in. There were very few big drops of rain, but some thunder and lightning, and wind. For a while. The clouds stayed, so the temperature stayed below 100°.  But it was still HOT.

I went to the brass band concert to night, and for the first hour or so, the air was dead still. Then the breeze picked up. And the temperature dropped. At almost 10:30 PM. the temperature was 78°.  It is not cooling the inside of the house yet, but I have some of the windows open to get some cross breezes and try to cool the inside off.  It will take a while. But hopefully, the house will cool off tonight.

Fresh Air

We have moved into a weather pattern that includes the opportunity for rain.  This pattern may be continue for the next several days. I woke up this morning and learned that there had been some rain overnight. I had the bedroom windows open and there was no moisture in the house, so, the rain must have been very gentle, and not from the south. 

There were gray clouds all day over where I work.  And, when I came  home, I learned that there had been enough rain to fill a 2.5 gallon bucket with roof run off, and the rain gauge had .25 inches of rain.

There are many blessing of rain. One is the cleansing of the air.  I am pleased to have the fresh air.

The Evening Air

The evening air was beautiful tonight: there was a breeze, but not too strong, and the temperature was pleasant.  I was able to sit outside for some time, before the Yankee vs. Detroit game was on TV. I did some yard work, I read the newspaper, I read the novel I am currently reading.

The air was great.  But, I sneezed.  And sneezed. And sneezed. There was obviously something in the air that was affecting me.  When I moved inside to watch the Yankee game, the sneezing stopped. 

Are you the sensitive?