Hibiscus seems so tender, but those flowers are tough!
The sky is metallic gray, the air is thick, hazy, heavy and toxic. It's going to be a Code Red day in DC today. On Code Red days the air is so poisonous, everyone is advised to stay indoors, not just the "sensitives." A Code Red day is summer on steroids. Yikes.
Though I tend to enjoy tilting against the weather, I might skip the punishment today. It's best not to tangle with a Code Red day. There's still a lot of work I need to do to get ready for the move and anyway sometimes I need to break my own rules, just to remind myself I can.
I remember that after fifteen years in San Francisco, the drastic weather in DC was such a shock, but I've been here awhile now. I love the dramatic seasons, love all the extremes, oh yeah. Drastic weather is an intrinsic characteristic of this beautiful, powerful, wounded city. To be honest, I find it charming, I do. I bow low before the weather gods, I succumb, I surrender.
Friends Effie and Andrew yesterday morning, before it got so damn hot.
17 comments:
You know I love your posts, Reya. I love every word you write, I really do. But sometimes your photos just completely overtake me!
The hibiscus shot is the most sensuous, delicious, luscious photo of summer I've ever seen.
Incredible how tough some delicate-looking souls can be, eh?
that hibiscus is beautiful. That's one of the things I like about the country house. No toxic air. Houston can get pretty bad.
I've never even heard of a "code red". We should have something like that in Phoenix for the heat. It's code red from July through September. That flower is GORGEOUS.
The hibiscus is lovely & the couple is so cute! Yes, it's best to stay inside today. Here it will be cooler that in the northeast; amazing! Stay cool kiddo.
It is funny how the weather rules so much of our lives and how often we make decisions based on the weather. It can ruin or make a day. It can keep us fed or destroy the crops. Is it any wonder that so many civilizations had weather Gods before science helped to dispel so many myths.
Either way we will always be at the mercy of the weather. Take it easy today.
God bless.
PS....that is the most awesome flower pic I think I have ever seen. It is mesmerizing. Almost looks like something from another planet. Just too cool.
GBA
that hibiscus is incredible - exotic and extravagant - extreme like your seasons. all that snow doesnt seem so long ago to me. i love the change of seasons though, do hope you are staying ahead with your move? x
Simply **SPECTACULAR**! What a great shot!
It's hot here too. Right now at 11:45 a.m. it's 93F with a heat index of 103F!
Inside is the place to be today for sure! Hunker down in the air conditioning, Reya!
Jo? Thanks!! Delicate does not always mean fragile, eh??
Everton a Code Red day means air pollution that's so bad, no one is supposed to breathe it. Public transportation is free. They ask people not to drive unless they have to, not to use paint or other chemicals outdoors.
Code Red isn't just about heat. It's a doomsday kind of day. cough cough ... I'm inside, in cooled, filtered air. I feel very lucky.
Extravagent is the perfect word to describe the seasons in DC.
No - the snow literally wasn't that long ago - 4 months? It sped by.
My first thought on seeing the hibiscus was "Hmmm. I wonder. Is hibiscus edible?" It does look good enough to eat. Stay indoors, Reya. Do you have a basement? If there were a Code Red in my town, I'd be going underground if at all possible.
It's supposed to be hot all over the US. We're expecting 91 today in Reno. Although it is now 11:20 and I still have all the doors and windows open, I expect that to change soon.
It's drizzly and overcast here on the left coast. I put on a jacket for my morning walk. The cool, refreshing, non-toxic air is actually healthy to breathe!
I'm in the middle of varnishing the handrail at my front door, so I wish it were sunny and warmer.
Dan, will you send a little cool drizzle our way? Thanks!
Surrender is all you really COULD do on a day like this! I surrendered and stayed indoors in the air conditioning!
That hibiscus looks like it's on steroids or something. That's really an incredible shot. I find that the best way to enjoy the heat when I go outside in this weather is to either keep perfectly still or to move as little and as slowly as possible.
You know, when I was there a couple weeks ago, it all came flooding back to me: the way people walk around when it's so damn HUMID and don't complain and just do their thing and sweat. I was positively wilting, but nobody else seemed at all bothered by it, so I decided to just go on and do what I needed to do. I felt rather intrepid.
Maybe that's the DC way, which you have thoroughly adapted to by now. :)
(I rode my bike to work yesterday and noticed, at the end of the day, that I felt a little bit wheezy. And I don't have allergies, and it wasn't a code red day here! Summer is at its toughest right now, I think...)
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