Surviving the Northeast Heatwave

Now there are plenty of places that scoff at 95 F temperatures. In the Great North Woods of New Hampshire, it's a heatwave. Remember we've also had high humidity. You've got to realize that on July 1 of this year, the auto road up Mt. Washington was closed due to snow. We are not used to the heat here.

Not every house has air conditioning. Mine doesn't have any. Even my truck doesn't have AC. Now when the heater broke, that was a crisis. The AC hasn't worked since long before I bought the truck. It's not worth it for the occasional heatwave. Some summers never get over 90 degrees. There have been times when it rarely crawled into the 70s.

For me, heat survival has consisted of a simple procedure. I crack open a cold beer, then walk out into the lake until it's cool enough. Sure, I wear a large brimmed hat, sunglasses, shorts, drink plenty of water and all that, but the lake/beer solution is the best. It's proven quite popular with friends, family, and new friends.

Not many public places like you drink on the beach anymore. That's why it's great to have my own beach. Yes, I even allow glass bottles -with the understanding that should a bottle break, all the glass pieces will be picked up. Besides, home brew is in bottles. My cousin's girlfriend accidentally broke a wine glass on Independence day, late at night. (Yeah, it was one heck of a party) She did her best to pick up the pieces that night. The next day, my cousin made a special trip to make sure it was all cleaned up. I'm happy to open up my beach to people who'll treat it responsibly.

Even though there's been plenty of sun for the solar panels, my household battery bank's been losing ground. The extra sun doesn't make up for the added draws of fans and refrigeration. I have to move my spring house project up the list. (got to keep all that beer cold)

This heatwave has proven to be a great opportunity to connect with people. Physically getting together strengthens bonds in ways no on-line community can match. I get to see what everyone's thinking and how they are doing. People are social critters. We need tribes. Opening up my place is one way to do so. Family members have recently helped out with some of the projects around here. They feel that they use the place so they want to contribute.

Yesterday, I bought two six packs of beer to share with people. My wife and I drank a few down the beach. This morning, there are three six packs in the fridge. Yep, survived the heatwave just fine . . .

-Sixbears