0830 and it is eighty-two degrees with a heat index already of ninety-three and going to a heat index of one hundred and one today. I don’t care where you are —- that is hot and already miserable. I pray that people who do not have air conditioning will find a place to have shelter from this heat. In years past there have been so many cases where senior citizens have simply died from heat exhaustion while sitting in their inner-city apartments without air-conditioning and no one bothered to check on them. I don’t think I know anybody that doesn’t have A/C or I would certainly check on them. I can’t believe that my neighbor Darrell is out there with a walk-behind lawn mower in this heat,  They have a John Deere rider; I can’t imagine why he isn’t using that. Maybe he is just doing the perimeter up against the fences and stuff. But —- he has a heart condition and has already had one heart attack; —- he knows better. I may put on my ball cap and go out and mow too in a bit but it won’t be walking.

I woke up and thought I had slept in this morning but it was just after 0700. I went ahead and got up because I think I had a good REM sleep all night and feel pretty rested. And —- this way I’m up with the early birds and can see if they really do get the worm. I doubt it though; even the. Robin is eating from my feeders these days. To heck with nasty old worms. So far I haven’t had a lot of guests at the Backyard Buffet today. I’ve had a few sparrows and a cardinal and that is about it. Buttercup, the neighbor’s yellow cat came over and sat around my feeders for a bit and got bored and left.

The flowers are changing over again in the flowerbeds. The lilies are still blooming but are starting to wane. The hydrangeas have had their peak and are starting to wane also. Now the summer phloxis starting to bloom nicely and will bloom for most of the summer. We like to let the phlox grow because the hummingbirds are especially attracted to it. They will by-pass hummingbird feeders and go to phlox most of the time. In this kind of weather though, the most popular place is the bird-bath. Whether bathing or drinking from them, they are visited frequently and need to be refilled frequently. I had to pick up some more peanut butter yesterday at the grocery to put in my woodpecker feeders. It takes a half of a 32 once jar of peanut butter to do a full round of filling those and I have to do it twice a week.

Tomorrow is Sunday and it will be Communion Sunday. I always enjoy that. Next Sunday will be an outdoor service and I’m really hoping the heatwave will have broken by then. It can be so pleasant out there in the Woodland Chapel unless it is hot like it currently is. Otherwise it becomes a swelter-box.

That’s it for today. I think I’ll put on my jeans and go ride my John Deere for a bit. Have a most pleasant day. Peace.