Too HOT!

Too hot here for too many days. We haven't seen this much heat for such a long time that I can't remember a time like this. This has caused our town and at least one other town in the area to be put on water restriction, meaning no outdoor watering of any kind. It does not mean restrictions for household use as yet, but it sure doesn't hurt to be a bit more conservative anyway. And the same goes for use of electricity since the air conditioners are running almost constantly.

The daily highs have been in the mid to upper 90's, approaching 100 or more at times. The heat index has been in the 100's, and yesterday it was 115, I think that is the highest so far. And it isn't even August! The crops are in the fields with their tongues hanging out, not only from the heat, but from the lack of rain as well. We need rain badly but so far all the showers have gone around us, just missing us by maybe 30 miles more or less. It seems we have an invisible dome above us. If you are familiar with garden cloches you might know that they magnify the heat from the sun and prevent any moisture from above from coming in. Prayers for rain and cooler temps are needed, not only for here but for a large part of the country.

With this heat, even though I am in a nice air conditioned home, it seems to sap one's energy. At least it affects me that way. It takes away the appetite (that is a good thing for me!) and the only things you do want to eat are cold. So when I saw the recipe for strawberry ice cream on another blog, I thought it sounded and looked so good. I have included the link below.

Low-fat Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream {no ice cream maker needed}

This is the first time I have used the 'share' button on a website to share it on Blogger. I was hoping the whole posting would show up, including the picture but that doesn't seem to be the case. I have shared it on Pinterest too, and someone repinned it within a minute or two! If you would like to follow my pins, there is a button on this page that will take you there.

I know some of you are interested in what it is like to live here in Iowa. I would say it isn't much different than any other rural area in every state. At least my area is very rural. There are parts of Iowa that have a more city/cultural atmosphere as well. Maybe we could say we have the best of both worlds at times. Probably the main differences in America is the variety of weather - from arid desert to tropical humidity, the two coastline states, the Gulf states, and then there are the states in between - either the Rocky Mountains or the vast plains. Each area has it's own idiosyncrasies with language, from the Boston and northeast accents, to the lovely, slow Southern drawl that I love to hear, and the Western twang. There there is the Norwegian/Swedish influence in Minnesota and North Dakota. Some people have an ear for even the slightest difference and can pinpoint just where it comes from.

In Iowa alone, we have some geological differences. Where I live in the northwest corner, we have rather flat but rolling hills that undulate across the land, and you can see for miles and miles at times. Riding down the highway, in one place you can see a town more than 5 miles away. Go another quarter mile and you can't even see the tall grain elevator anymore. In southern Iowa the hills get a bit higher and more frequent. I remember taking a trip to the southwest corner of the state for a neighbor's wedding. It was impossible to use the cruise control as we were constantly going up and down, more like a roller coaster. It is somewhat like that along the eastern border too, but that is along the Mississippi River and so there are high bluffs there, and lots of trees. So, if one part of the state bores you, try a different area!

Some who have traveled across the state complained about all they could see was cornfields, and thought it was the most boring state. They were from Chicago if I remember right. Or maybe it was New York. Having grown up here, I love to see the fields when the crops have turned them green and they wave in the wind. We do get lots of wind here. I love the smell of newly cut hay. Years ago there used to be a lot of oat fields but you have to look long and hard to find them here today. It was about this time of year that the oats were harvested and so those fields would be golden yellow. Soon the corn will be tasseling. Then the farmers who are raising seed corn for next year's crops will have groups of young people in those fields detasseling. They remove the tassels from the top of the plant for several rows, and leave them intact for the same number of rows. Don't ask me the details as I don't know exactly, but it has to do with cross-pollinating. That was something I never got involved with as a teenager, but many do. It is good pay. The other half of the fields are planted in soybeans. They turn the prettiest rust color when ready to harvest.



Well. This certainly was not on my mind as I started this post! The mind does tend to go on a tangent when I write. But now it is time to clean off the kitchen table where there are some things that need to go to the pantry.

Till next time. . .