2024, animals, Food, Kids, State Fair, Weather

Mother Nature – 1. VS & YA – 0.

40 Comments

I’ve been to the Fair in all kinds of weather.  Granted, no snow but light rain, heavy rain, serious winds, tornado watches and heat.  Lots of heat.  In fact, last year there were five days that were 90 degrees and higher.  I was there for two of those days.  The other three days were no slouches either, temperature wise. 

So on Monday bringing in a forecast of 90, we weren’t too worried.  We took our fans and headed out, getting on the first bus and arriving at the fair at 7:45 a.m.  Got a cold bottle of water right away (along with a crepe and cookies….) before heading to the animal barns.  We thought it would be a good strategy to get the barns done before the day got too crazy.  This was a good strategy but after an hour or so petting cows, lambs, goats and horses in non-air conditioned barns, we were squirming.  At that point it was only 80 degrees but the humidity was 85% and you could feel every percent of that.  We were both dripping.

Walked up to the Pet Pavilion to find that the German Shorthair Pointers were not doing any of their demonstrations.  We did pet the dogs that were there and wandered about looking at a few displays but it was brutal.  I would have been willing to sit in the sun (with my fan and my baseball cap) to watch the dog dock diving, as it didn’t require any movement on my part, but YA didn’t want to.  It was nasty enough that neither of us was too interested in food and we’d filled up the water bottle three times.  YA didn’t even last through one level of the Grandstand, which she normally loves – if there was air in there, you couldn’t tell. 

I wasn’t too happy either and I didn’t want to do anything in particular enough to try to coax YA into it.  So for the first time EVER, we headed back to the bus at noon.  Didn’t even pretend that we might come back so skipped getting our hands stamped on the way back.  When the bus arrived, the folks getting off said “it’s freezing on the bus”.  I said “great”. 

When we got home we lounged in the backyard in the shade, filled up Guinevere’s little pool, soaked our feet and tried not to feel completely defeated.

What do you do when it’s hot hot hot?

40 thoughts on “Mother Nature – 1. VS & YA – 0.”

  1. My window air conditioner died last night. So until the landlord gets around to replacing it, I’ll go with an old Nelly song.
    “It’s getting hot in here. So take off all your clothes.”

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      1. I know the song but other than using it as a Wes joke cannot recommend it. In my opinion, it’s misogynistic. That’s why I didn’t post the video.

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  3. Sweat, sweat, sweat. I HATE heat, especially when combined with 70+ degree dew points. I’ve played golf on days where I sweat so much and for so long that my clothes are completely soaked. On those days I can wring the moisture out of my shirt.

    I have to wear sweatbands on my head and wrists when golfing on those days. I look like a tennis player stuck into a group of golfers, but I can at least keep sweat out of my eyes (mostly) and keep my hands dry enough to hang onto the clue.

    Chris in Owatonna–who didn’t golf in league Monday night because it was too hot/humid. Plus I had a cold so I could play the illness card. 😦

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  4. Back in ND, we typically have low humidity. 95° with 20% humidity is no problem. I have been back to the humid lands of my childhood this past week, and it is not fun. Humidity levels of 80% or higher may be great for the corn, but not so great for watching 6 year old boys play soccer, as we did last Saturday and last evening. Grandson sure slept well after all that running around, and it wasn’t even that hot here yesterday. Cooler temperatures are coming, though, as the temperatures back home are moderating.

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    1. somebody told me years ago when you had the temperature and the humidity humidity together they start getting uncomfortable at 140 so Monday or the temperature was 80 to 90 all day and the humidity was 80 to 90 was brutal Sunday. They were talking about it being hot and I didn’t think it was too bad but Monday was incredible. Just awful, I think I saw Jacque that lou was at the fair and thought he would be having a good time and I thought it was way too hot to have a good time. vs confirms that.

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  5. I remember being a 4-H exhibitor as a kid staying at the 4-H dorms on the State Fairgrounds. The dorms were pretty hot at night, and the bunk beds were three beds high. We ran around on the grounds after dark when it cooled down a bit.

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    1. Rise and Shine Baboons,

      I am headed out there today for my “Ask a Master Gardener” shift. It is forecast to be cool. VS, Lou and Kevin were there Monday with Lou in a mobility cart. He loved that cart. They got separated about 1pm for about 45 minutes, then found each other again. They returned via bus, overheated but happy for that bus’s air conditioning. They said it was fine until about 11am when they felt the heat intensify.

      When it is that hot I stay home. I just cannot take the heat.

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        1. VS found me in the Horticulture building. Nice and cool today. And now I have a Harris/walz button and an Amy button. I skipped the never Walz booth.

          I snswered 21 gardening questions. Buckthorn and failing lilacs were the topics of the day.

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  7. when it’s hot and humid, do you look for shade and a breeze ideally or an air-conditioned room? I’m usually driving these days and my air conditioner doesnt do a great job of keeping up but without it I would be in big trouble.

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  8. Morning-
    On days like Monday, I sure do appreciate not milking cows anymore.
    Remember, no AC in our house. Lots of fans. This is Kelly’s type of weather, but even she admitted it was hot on Monday.
    In the college theater, we have AC, but no thermostat. So It’s generally pretty chilly in here. I love it. The front offices are FREEZING but the stage and seats are comfortable (depending on the person) and back here in the shop, I have some fans to keep the air moving and it’s nice.
    Except I turned if off last Thursday because I didn’t realize how hot it was going to be over the weekend. Oops.
    I picked up daughter in the afternoon and we had ice cream at McDonalds.
    I did a little work outside when I got home. It was 7PM and nothing strenuous, but still soaked through a shirt in quick order.

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  9. I have to go back to yesterday and the opera.
    I forgot to mention “Sing Faster, The Stagehands Ring Cycle”.
    It’s available on You Tube and it’s fun and interesting. You get the full story without all the singing.

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  10. I just wilt when it’s both hot and humid. I don’t use the A/C till it gets up to 81 in the house, and we keep it at 80, which is just fine. The a/c helps with the humidity too. Going outside on Monday was like stepping into a steam bath.

    I also tote the toaster oven and/or crock pot out back, and plug them into the summer kitchen hookups. I hate to use energy to both warm up AND cool down the house, simultaneously.

    I’m glad you left the Fair at noon, too, VS!

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  11. OT, I think a neighbor and his son will come over next week to chop up our big branch with a chain saw. If anyone wants firewood I will have some. Next I must get a tree service to answer the phone, then come assess that tree which may need to come down entirely. $$$$$

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  12. My Dad enjoyed telling the story of his summer times with Mom while Air Force based in my birthplace, Selma, Alabama. No air conditioner, of course, and a little fan.
    They wake up in the morning and see the imprint of two bodies on the mattress from the sweat. I know it’s a little weird but Mom liked the story as well.

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  13. I don’t tolerate high humidity and heat well, so I avoid it if I can. Monday I attended George Latimer’s memorial service via zoom, and I’m glad I did, I’m sue he understood.

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      1. He was one of a kind, that’s for sure. But he was a genuinely sweet man with a wonderful sense of humor who didn’t take himself too seriously.

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        2. Oh no. He was running for mayor when I was working in the First National Bank Building. I was in his office a couple of times after he became mayor on official business, and because I was active in all kinds of neighborhood initiatives for many years, I bumped into him regularly. He knew me well enough to recognize me and know my name.

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  14. Update.
    I’m going to be cool tonight. I asked and received permission from my landlord to swap out my air conditioner with that of an empty unit. I am trusted with keys. I looked into several units that have been empty for months and found the AC and fans on! What a waste of energy! My next door neighbor wondered why I was bringing a comfy chair into another apartment. I explained the situation without reference to my falling asleep all night in that chair which I will do until tomorrow morning when I exchange AC units.

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      3. you hear about people in poor parts of town dying of heat and now you understand it and migrant workers who complain of no water breaks. its crazy how hot it is and how people are expectated to just deal with it

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  15. Update. Started to try getting ac units out. Not gonna do it. Too much silicone and duct tape. Red Green would be proud of how that guy secured these appliances.

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    1. that was one of my 8 track tapes back in the days when traveling in the vw van with 2 shoeboxes of 8 track tapes was all a guy could ask for. i sure loved jessie winchester

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