Thursday, July 12, 2012

Baby, it's hot outside!



Wasting away again in Margaritaville, searching for that last chocolate malt,

or something like that.

It's summer time here in the US!

I love summer.

I love the sights, sounds, smells and colors of it. The longer days and the farmers markets.

I begin to dream about it every year on January 1. I will stand at the window looking hopefully at the grass and trees outside, searching for a hint of growth. A little speck of that beautiful,soft green and new growth. A sign of warmer weather coming. Summer!.


I have always thought that Christmas time should be cold and that winter should last until we sang Auld Lang Syne. But as soon as we finish our midnight toasts, I'm done with winter.

I live near the state capital that is located the farthest south.  (can you name it?)  In my neck of the woods,
summer-time means searching for ways to beat the heat.  Everything from water recreation, hydrating and trying to stay near an air-conditioner because (it's an oven here) temperatures climb to dangerously high levels. Summer time means temperatures in the upper 90's and low100's.

I really don't mind.
(she's crazy!)

Water recreation is abundant here.  There are lakes and rivers and water parks and lots of pools.

get the duck, Penny!



say hello to aqua-girl!


Almost every house is equipped with an air-conditioner. A long time ago, before electricity, the  houses had sleeping porches.  They were, as their name describes, porches that were screened in on the outside of the house and people slept there in the summer  time because it was cooler there than being inside the house.

I don't know about that.  I've camped out here in the summer and believe me! it was hard to get to sleep because it was so hot until midnight at the earliest!

Of course hydration is important! And there are lots of ways to be sure you are staying hydrated in the summer time!

Being a southern girl, I have always liked iced tea.  Dotti's picture reminded me just how good a
glass of iced tea tastes on a hot summer day!  Click here to see it, go ahead, I'll wait.


Last summer I discovered iced coffee courtesy of the Pioneer Woman.




Keeping the kids hydrated is important too.  Although it's also fun for the grown-ups!

There's nothing like a pop-ice!



or a sno-cone!



Don't forget about the pets!




Reaching for an adult beverage fills the bill because sometimes you just want to stay in Margarita-ville!
It's 5 o'clock somewhere!





What's you favorite way to beat the heat?  Share it with us!  Tell us about it or post it in the flickr gallery!

We raise up our glasses against evil temperatures! Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses!

And speaking of H2O, (huh?) don't forget this month's In Focus theme is Water. Perfect theme for summer time!

Add your water shots to the Flikr gallery!


"I drifted into a summer-nap under the hot shade of July, serenaded by a cicadae lulliby, to drowsy-warm dreams of distant thunder." ~Terri Guillemets


xo,

















9 comments:

stephmull said...

Oh, Linda! Your photos are so summer-esque and perfect! I love summer for the laziness of it and the ability to let the schedule go a bit....but I'm not always a fan of the heat. Although, a dip in the pool always does a body good!

Jeanne said...

You have captured the essence of summer, and the heat. Especially love that shot of your puppies tongue in the glass. So cute

Dotti said...

Super photos, all so summery and wonderful; fun post! I agree, it seems summertime = fun time. I love the longer days, as well, being a bit of a sunshine addict. Paradoxically, though, I'm not crazy about upper 90's and low 100's (isn't that an oxymoron?), which we had for about 2 weeks. Rain earlier this week broke that although we're still too dry. But it's still fun out there and we're heading for the pool in a few.

I was about to describe my ideal summer but then thought maybe I'd save that for my post. Come back Monday to find out!!

Lifting my glass of iced tea to you and aqua-girl! Cheers!! :-))

terriporter said...

Such great heat-beating ideas and wonderful photos that make me feel cooler just looking at them! We are having some pretty intense heat here too, although I think we're drier here in AZ. Thank goodness for air conditioning and the pool! I try to run my errands in the morning because by afternoon it's hard to get the car to cool down between stops. But I will take our summer heat any day over the winters a lot of people endure. At least I don't have to shovel it! Raising a cool glass of something (I like the looks of that margarita) to you!

Kim Stevens said...

Hot and steamy here on the gulf coast. It's been triple digits, lots of humidity and now lots of flash flooding rain which has brought about all the dang mosquitoes. I'm usually heading to the beach that is only 30 minutes from me whenever I can which hasn't been enough lately!! I can cool off (sorta) and get pictures in the process, like shooting 2 birds with one camera! LOL I do love my iced coffee, but I'm lazy and just drink yesterday's coffee over ice and LOTS of french vanilla creamer. I just might have to try her recipe though, and I know my hubby would love it.

LOVE the pic of the dogs slurping up the water! : )

heyjudephotography said...

Love your photos! For me it's the pool and a huge glass of unsweetened iced tea. (I know, some of you southern belles are just shocked - no sugar!) Those two things on a hot day and I'm a happy camper.

Carol said...

Must be east coast, Judy - that's my drink too! Great picture of the doggy tongue!

Claudia said...

In Utah we have cute little "shaved ice" booths... A snow cone in a cup! great flavors.

Reminds me of summer for sure!

I love love LOVED that cute pups tongue.

leigh said...

That adult beverage is looking might fine! I enjoy summer for about 2 weeks and then the heat has me yearning for fall. As a landscape designer I much prefer spring and summer because we can be out making yard beautiful. My slowest time for work is summer especially July and August because it's just too hot to do anything. So here I sit counting down the days to fall!

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing part of your day with us. If for any reason you are unable to leave a comment here on this post, please leave your comment on our Facebook page or in our Flickr discussion group. We love hearing from you!

 
© Focusing On Life