July 15

A July heat wave began today, with temperatures in the low 90s and the humidity on the rise. The tractor was out early, well before dawn, and it’s a wonder how they survive the long day in the fields, where the demands of cultivating and harvest are now in full measure. We’ll see Fred still out working well after sundown, where after I imagine he simply collapses into bed. These days are the demanding stretch, which will intensify when the corn is ready for picking. This should be any day now.

We have a large patch of Coreopsis in the knot garden, in full bloom and exposed nearly all day to the sun’s intensity. It seems to thrive in this heat, and there is something about it which reminds me of a folklore remedy the southerners used years ago to counter the summer swelter.

Old homes in the deep south had shallow niches just outside (and often around) the window sills, where the residents would take Spanish Moss from the trees and line the niches. The moss would absorb humidity from the passing air, providing a measure of relief, in the days well before air conditioning was invented.

Our coreopsis reminds me of this; its interior is akin to a dark forest, and the temperature within is some ten to fifteen degrees cooler and less humid on even the most blistering of days.

We don’t line the windows with coreopsis, nor do we have a natural (or electronic) means of air conditioning. It’s hot now, and we make due with fans at night, resigned to lying atop our sheets, thinking about the coolness that autumn will bring.

Notes:

Joe-pye weed in bloom along bend toward Hill Road from Whittenmore Street)