Highlighted Clouds

I gave up the effort to sleep this morning,  got up to close the door  and was quite taken by these clouds highlighted by the sun which had not yet risen over the hills.  I don't think the camera quite captured the almost surreal nature of these little cottony puffs scattered around the sky after a day when the temperatures reached 114F and never dropped below 85F all night.

We are having a repeat of yesterday's temperatures today and it seems to be having the effect of the perfect storm when everything gets cancelled out by everything else, little annoyances take on  significance of great importance, and nothing seems to go right. 

We get messages from the power company that there will be rolling blackouts because the supply cannot keep up with the demand. We're asked to conserve power between the hours of peak demand...4pm to 10pm. The power company takes power from our battery during this same time. (Heaven knows the battery is fully charged by 10am. ) so we should be able to use our AC without affecting the grid. There are no answers. Or at least not comprehensible ones. At least not comprehensible to me because they seem to keep changing.

After a trip to the store, I had to use my dress to open the car door which was too hot to touch. The air conditioning in the store felt wonderful and the AC in the car works wonderfully quickly, so it's almost better to drive around in the car except it is also a spare the air day which means we're supposed to drive as little as possible.

Despite John's heroic efforts to give some extra water to some plants, they are decidedly wilted. All the plants in the little 'shade' garden under an oak tree have died. We don't know whether to blame the fact that the irrigation has been turned down, or the ground squirrels who are rampant in that spot, but it's probably some of both.

By evening, it all becomes too much and we just slump on the couch and look mindlessly at the television or our device of choice. Even Spike has realized that it is just too hot to go out the door and has slumped on his own spot on the couch. 

I think that we're about to decide that if we have AC, we should use it on the hottest day of the year. If they turn off the power we'll deal with it then.

Did I mention that heat like this not only fries one's brain but makes one VERY CRANKY!