… (snapping fingers), the unofficial end of Summer has arrived. Does it seem like we just heralded the gateway to Summer on Memorial Day weekend, or are you just done with Summer?
MOST people around the world griped about the Summer of 2022, (Yours Truly included), even though, in the depths of Winter ‘21-‘22, while bundling up to head outside, I swore I would not utter a single complaint, even if I sizzled like bacon on the griddle some mornings when I left for my walk. Of course those affirmations were made long before it was non-stop heat and humidity. Here in Southeast Michigan it felt like the Dog Days of Summer, that 40-day period stretching from July 3rd to August 11th, long before those Dog Days arrived.
Summer was one hot mess!
We experienced our first of 15 days of 90+-degree F (32 C) days on June 21st. We were forewarned …
… but then it was like it was the celebration of the year. Ugh.
There were a plethora of storms and a new weather vocabulary word for me: “gustnado” which I learned is not a new weather term or a made-up word which sounds like some some type of heavy-duty toilet bowl cleaner. Instead, a gustnado is a surface vortex created from a downburst that develops from a thunderstorm.
Oh – okay, now something else to worry about along with its cousins the derechos and tornados. The severe weather that parts of Michigan experienced a week ago today lasted only a few minutes, but packed a punch. It was attributed to a gustnado, which knocked out power to 300,000 homes and businesses and 3,300 power lines fell. The lines were the first order of business for our energy provider DTE to tackle, then the power issues. A few coolish days post-storm made it somewhat bearable for those folks, then the temps and humidity ramped up again by week’s end.
Sometimes in Summer ’22 we had all day rain/storms – good for parched lawns anyway.
In lamenting over the weather, I heard a factoid about our nation’s weather that bears sharing: the number of extreme heat days have tripled since the 80s and this extreme weather is expected to continue.
What the heck happened to those pleasant Summer days the entire season when I was growing up? We never had more than a fan in the house, then added a window air conditioner in the den/TV room in the late ’60s, followed by central air conditioning in 1975. My mom used to talk about the Summer Heat Wave of July 1936 when temps across North America soared to 105 F to 110 F daily (40 C to 43 C), only dipping down to the mid-90s at night, for 23 days. Mom said they had one small table fan and the family would gather around it, but on workday evenings, all the neighborhood men took a pillow and blanket to Toronto’s Sunnyside Park to ensure they got a good night’s sleep as they all worked in manufacturing jobs, in large plants, with not so much as a fan to cool the workers off. The refreshing breezes off Lake Ontario ensured a somewhat restful night’s sleep. My mom and my grandmother slept on the front porch to catch a breeze.
In retrospect, though we have enjoyed a few stellar weather weekends, the nicest days often occurred on weekdays. At times it was as if Mother Nature decided to penalize us for those weekday respites from the heat and humidity, by giving us crummy days on the weekends. What’s up with that anyway? Many times the morning meteorologist quipped “folks, this is a good day to play hooky from work or school if you can do so.” He’d follow that statement up with “folks, the weekend weather won’t be terrible, but be prepared for splash-and-dash showers and keep an eye to the sky.”
Suffice it to say Summer wore out its welcome with me!
So what else was bugging you in this topsy-turvy Summer of 2022?
Many of us simply stayed put and did not bug out due to inflation, high gas prices and/or erratic weather which may have tabled those plans until 2023. Meanwhile we just sucked it up, dealt with “air you could wear” and heat so intense that the a meme suggested you could bake lasagna in your mailbox.
Now, as the sun sleeps in longer and Poplar leaves litter the path at Council Point, we begin a slow transition to what we hope will be a fantastic Fall (fingers crossed).
My grocery store is in Autumn mode with mums and pepper plants gracing the entrance to the store. They also had ornamental pepper plants which made me think of my mom as we always had one in the kitchen once Fall arrived. Inside the store, while it is too early for humungous orange gourds, it IS time for pumpkin and spice and everything nice … even PSC. So what is PSC you ask? Would Special K® Pumpkin Spice Crunch call your name when you walked by the cereal aisle?
So did you fulfill any of the Summer Bucket List of Items you dreamed about in those coldest and crummiest days of Winter, not to mention that Spring laced with icy precip?
Or did gas prices and inflation table those dreams until 2023? With the advent of Labor Day comes a wee chill in the area, a different angle of the sun and the sun is sleeping in later. Maybe you’ll get ‘er done now.
While we all might welcome cardigan weather, will you miss the butterflies, bees and blooms? Some of the butterflies have already departed saying “we’re outta here” and off they go, winging their way to warm climes on sadly tattered wings.
The hummingbirds are similarly Googling flight plans to take them South and fueling up at every nectar station they can find. The bees are sipping natural nectar, embracing the beautiful blooms as much as we humans do.
Flowers like these at the Tribute Garden at Fair Lane, the home of Clara and Henry Ford, bloomed profusely thanks to those bees …
… but beautiful flowers aside, Autumn, with its crisp air, great smells and colorful foliage beckons me like a magnet.
Plusses and minuses.
I think the ever-present heat and humidity kept the chalk artists inside. I found this gem on the Bishop Park Boardwalk one morning, a message that brought a …
… to my face on a wicked hot day.
Since there was no abundance of chalk art, I was forced to create my own as you see near the end of this post.
I had to really bulk up the miles in August, now there are less minutes to get those miles walked these days. So, by Labor Day, the weekend that commemorates the 11th anniversary of my walking regimen, yes, I know the drill. Walk, walk, walk … then walk some more. Pardon the appearance of my walking shoes. I had to walk on someone’s lawn as there had been a water main break and I sunk down into mud. I do have new shoes waiting in the wings, just too lazy to stop, dig ’em out and lace them. I need to get them broken in before dew-slickened leaves and black ice arrive.
However, the month of August I designated as errands month. A couple of doctor’s appointments, but mostly, like my squirrel pals who are stashing peanuts and black walnuts in hidey holes for Winter, I similarly was out buying pantry items then scratching my head where to put everything. Instant clutter, but no running around in ice and snow either, so that’s a great trade-off. Then the car had a minor blip, a leak, which made me reluctant to go anywhere this holiday weekend. So I took a slew of photos Friday and Saturday to fill some upcoming posts with some squirrel, duck and rabbit frivolity at my favorite nature nook, Council Point Park. Thus, I made no long trips to parks from August 1st and through Labor Day. Focus, focus, focus … now I’m free and can go on long treks through the cooler September and October months and enjoy the Fall foliage. Maybe now I can look at all the photos I’ve taken on big treks in the month of July – they are still on the camera card.
Goals … yep, I’ve made a few in 2022.
As to walking, my mini goal was to reach 999 of my 1,256 miles (2,022 km) by Labor Day and happily it was mission accomplished. My second goal was to reach 9,999 miles on my 2009 Buick LaCrosse by year end. Well, we are still gettin’ there in that regard as I tootle along. This photo was taken a few weeks ago:
That was a personal goal in response to fellow bloggers Ruth and JP kidding me about reaching 9,999 car miles by year end, when a photo of my odometer back in January, (which I intended to show how cold it was in the car by the Detroit River), also showed my low mileage.
So these are my stats as of September 4, 2022 and I’m about par with my 2021 walking stats. I hope to make it … I have 119 days left to fulfill both goals.
Have a safe Labor Day.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
This is beautifully written and illustrated!
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Thank you Anne. I appreciate you saying that.
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Well, I think we all gripe about every season, but these numerous 100+ days were brutal this year. I keep thinking the weather will just get worse from this point forward – at least a lot of weather men think so. Enjoyed your flowers pictures and your plans to keep walking for the remainder of the year. Happy Labor Day to you.
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I actually felt a little guilty whining about all the 90-degree plus temperatures when other bloggers like you and a few in California have suffered far more than we have here in Southeast Michigan. But you also had that terrible ice storm and then you went through a period of so many tornadoes … your weather has been bad this year for sure Peggy. Glad you liked the flower pictures. They were so beautiful in that tribute garden at the Henry Ford Estate.
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No reason to feel guilty. 90 degree weather in your area is hot. Our bodies adjust to where we live and I am sure 90+ is hot for your area.
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Yes, you are right about that Peggy. We used to have just a handful of days in the 90s, mostly in August, but none of this dramatic heat and humidity and certainly not for 15 days altogether. Today it was actually chilly when I went out – what a welcome change!
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Ah chilly sounds good for a change. Our morning temps are in the sixties now. So nice.
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Same here Peggy – it was 62 when I went out this morning and I hated to come home. It’s been nice having a break from the A/C being on as well.
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Climate change is real! And I remember talking to some of my older neighbors years and years ago when I lived in Philly and they also slept in the stoop or the sidewalk when it was hot 🥵 Linda. Imagine! Beautiful photos. Happy Labor Day!
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Yes it is Pam and my favorite meteorologist is an expert in climate change. Paul is a self-professed “science nerd” who has been preaching to the choir about climate change for a very long time. It is amazing to think how your neighbors and my relatives thought nothing of sleeping on the cool cement to get a good night’s sleep. I guess crime was not a worry in those days like it is today. Even the one fan for the entire family as “money was dear” as I heard often from my mom is something we cannot fathom in today’s world can we?
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Times were much simpler and people stuck together more unlike today when we’re at each other’s throats all the time for the simplest things. Perhaps we’ve become too affluent? We think we don’t need each other anymore? I mean, in the days of “one fan” people had to work together or they wouldn’t make it, right? 🤪
Have a good walk today, Linda! 😘
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I often wish I lived in a simpler era Pam. You are exactly right – people have forgotten how to get along with one another, even family members. We have become too self-serving and I don’t think we will ever go back to the way things were. We had a beautiful day today. I’m soaking up as many good weather days as I can.
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As it is here. I love fall!
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We’re enjoying another beautiful day with a Fall-like feel. It was 52 when I went out to walk this morning. I’d like to bottle this up for the rest of the year.
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Just gorgeous!
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I laughed out loud when you said that “gustnado” sounds like some some type of heavy-duty toilet bowl cleaner. 🤣 But the havoc they wreak is no laughing matter. You guys have had more than your share of severe weather. All I can complain about is the drought, a quiet insidious problem. Your mother’s description of the 1936 heat wave made me think of when we lived in Greece when I was a teenager. They have flat roofs over there, with a parapet surrounding, so they can sleep up there when it’s too hot to sleep inside. I wonder if most people have air conditioning now. Loved all your bee pictures on the pretty flowers. Summer blessings. Still, like you, the colorful leaves of autumn beckon. May you reach your mileage goals, both auto and walking!
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Glad to give you a smile Barbara. Not that I know every weather term, but I was not the first person last Tuesday when the severe storm damage info was published the next day who had never heard of this. It was like the Derecho of 1980 here in Michigan. I had never heard of a derecho before. The winds in my county reached 100 mph and our lawn needed cutting and it looked like someone combed the grass down. We had a lot of young trees the City had planted in the median and despite being staked, they all sustained wind damage and were sideways (yet still rooted) and had to be removed. It was scary and I was working in a high-rise building where the glass in the corner office, (luckily a senior partner who was on vacation), blew out and his mementos and papers all blew out the window.
I would imagine it would be much cooler on the roof as you mentioned about Greece. I know a lot of people suffered in Europe this Summer and last Summer due to not having A/C. I guess we are spoiled here in the U.S. The bees on the flowers – they are such “busy bees” as sometimes they never even noticed me taking their picture. Thank you, I hope to reach both my goals – I have heard that we will have a warm September and October, so that should bode well for getting out and walking. We have had black ice in October before and once had a snowstorm so early in November that people still had their Halloween pumpkins out and I got some fun shots of snow-covered pumpkins and red Maple leaves covered in snow. I heard your state got some flooding today – feast or famine it seems!
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I remember your Derecho of 1980 story — very scary! To think, black ice in October sometimes and then sometimes air conditioning is needed in the same month. We’ve definitely got to be flexible and prepared for anything. Years ago we were taking an October walk through a state forest when it started to snow. I’ll never forget how pretty those flurries looked fluttering among the brightly colored leaves. We did have some flooding in some towns yesterday but we were okay here with 2.6 inches.
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I wondered if I ever shared the Derecho story with you Barbara. It was very scary and I never heard that weather term before that day. Although we had no damage, we did lose our power for an entire week and it was a hot week at that. I’ll bet that was pretty with the snow on the leaves. Sometimes the seasons clashing like that can be very picturesque. We had a freak ice storm once in early November. It had rained every weekend and I hadn’t cut down my roses and I got some pictures of the roses with ice dripping off them – pretty to see and the ice melted later in the day. Wow – 2.6 inches is a lot of rain, especially if it has been dry and there is runoff. Glad you were okay.
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I love your writing Linda, the hummingbirds are googling flight plans, I like that one. 🙂
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Thank you Sandra. I follow Wild Birds Unlimited and they give the Hummingbirds arrival and departure dates and keep reminding people to keep their feeders full – it made me think it is not too early for the Hummingbirds to be Googling flight plans. 🙂
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I’m so glad you reached your goals and I can relate to your feelings about the summer heat. I’m not quite ready for it to end though. My garden will pass away and I’ll miss the blooms deeply.
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Thank you LaShelle – I will keep on pushing to meet both goals. I used to, up until a few years ago, try to walk more than I drove each year. I walked to Council Point Park daily, then walked the perimeter path there, but then the mechanic said to drive the car more as it is getting older to avoid electrical issues and seals drying up and I started frequenting bigger parks, so I no longer claim to walk more than I drive. Our flowers here are still going strong – my neighbor’s magnolia bush is blooming for the third of fourth time this year! You can start looking at seed catalogs once the flowers are gone to keep from missing them too much!
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That’s a valid point thanks so much!!
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It is raining here again today, flash flood watch in effect. I, too, am seeing grocery stores in Pumpkin Spice Mode. All things, every which way, plus miles of bags of candy. I feel overwhelmed whenever I go shopping. Too soon, too much, I say.
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The weather makes no sense anymore Ally – we had that severe weather last Monday and though they had said we might expect high winds and hail, that storm blew in/out of most counties in less than five minutes. The rain, like yours, has been torrential and runs off as everything is so dry. I understand the pumpkin treats, but not the Halloween decor, candy, costumes at all – too early. People are aflutter here as the most-popular cider mill raised its price of a gallon of cider from $12.00 to $14.00. I had no idea – it’s been years since I bought just a half-gallon of cider for a treat; it was the Honeycrisp apple cider which was pricey, but just a once-a-year treat.
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I tried not to complain. Really I did but there were a few times (very few) that defied comment!
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I always say I will not complain about Summer’s heat and humidity, but I do anyway and our heat and humidity was bad, but certainly nothing to rival California or a fellow blogger’s weather in Arkansas – day after day near 100 degrees, right at her blueberry harvesting time with lots of bushes and her/husband are in their early 80s.
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It was a hot summer all over but for once I’m glad I didn’t live in California.
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Me too Kate and hearing reports of how close they are to going over the limit on their power grid so being asked to cut back on electricity today to avoid rolling blackouts is sure a precarious situation. A fellow blogger said it was to be 107 yesterday where she lives in California.
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It’s been cooler here for a few days, not even hitting 70 but with high humidity. Today should be great, 80s, sunny and pleasant. I’m hoping our 100 degree weather is behind us.
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We had another gorgeous day here too – I hated to come home to get to work. I hope our “warmer-than-normal” weather predicted for Fall doesn’t include 100-degree days either and we ease into Fall.
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Your weather this summer was atrocious! I hate the heat but can deal with the cold. Your car has very low mileage! I think my bike has more!
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It was not an enjoyable Summer at all Wayne and I swore I would not complain about it after being outside walking precariously in the ice and snow or shoveling snow, but all that is forgotten when it is hot day after day. I am looking forward to Fall, though I understand we will be having a warm Fall as well. For years, after I started my walking regimen in 2011, I thought it would be fun to walk more than I drove – that was a fun thing to do, but it did not help the car out and then I was told to drive it as much as I could to keep electrical issues and drying up of seals at bay. So I had to change things up a bit. I still hope to hit 9,999 miles by the end of the year.
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the problem is the extremes, nobody wants extremes! Everybody wants Goldi-Loks weather!
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Like the olden days – growing up and perfect Summer days. The weather doesn’t make sense anymore.
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which is fitting as people do not make sense anymore either!
I wonder If our mothers and fathers said the same thing and their grandparents?
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You have to wonder sometimes Wayne.
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As usual, I enjoyed all your fantastic photos. I laughed often at your choice of words for wicked weather. I’m so glad you lived through it again this year. Keep on walkin’.
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Thanks Anne – lots of flowers and bees on flowers to share from the Henry Ford Estate. They were gorgeous. The weather has been abysmal this Summer, though I felt badly whining about it when so many fellow bloggers dealt with the wicked heat and humidity, The severe weather last week was downright scary. I hope to meet both goals by year end … we are supposed to have a very warm September and October so that will help.
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I lost track of my walking. There were too many things going on in the last 3 months. I do still walk most days, and daughter Kate will be here next week. She and Lisa are both enthusiastic about walking to the creek.
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That’s good – well you had a lot going on and you can start out fresh next week or even in 2023 and start marking your miles in earnest again.
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I was talking with my grandsons about our favorite seasons. One of them told me that fall is his favorite season. I didn’t tell him, but fall is my 3rd favorite season. Not a fan of the whole pumpkin spice everything trend. Hope you get some good mileage this fall, Linda. We are in Utah, where the temperature has topped out at over 100 degrees every day we were here!
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I have always liked Fall Laurie, even more so with these very hot Summers we get now. We will be having a very warm September and October according to our meteorologists, so I hope that will bode well toward me meeting my goal. We’ve had black ice in October and then an early snowfall right after Halloween in the past. Wow, the weather forecasters never mention the heat in Utah, mostly just California, for the heat dome which is to stretch until Sunday. Are you there for a race or just visiting?
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We ran a half marathon on Saturday in a little town north of Salt Lake City. Going home tomorrow. I remember wearing winter coats to trick-or-treat when my kids were little. Not anymore! It’s usually pretty warm in PA on Halloween.
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Hope you and Bill did well in the sweltering heat for that half marathon. Yes, I remember those days of coats taking the fun out out of cute costumes. Now, you are raking leaves and putting up the outside Christmas decorations in a tee-shirt in October.
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A very hot and humid summer indeed! One that I’m sure we all will remember. But it did produce some beautiful blooms. 🙂 I’m looking forward to milder autumn days but will miss my little hummingbirds when they take off for parts unknown.
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I felt a little guilty whining about our heat Rebecca as I know you and other bloggers in Southern states, or those on the West Coast are dealing with more heat and humidity than me. I do like Fall and they are predicting a very warm Fall for us as well. Those flowers were gorgeous, despite wilting day after heat in the sun. I am still seeing hummingbirds here, but they will be leaving by mid-September unfortunately.
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Good summary of a bummer summer, Linda! Honestly, I think it was the worst summer ever. I can count on two hands how many nice days we had, some of which I seemed to always have appointments on. I don’t mind fall, but am really dreading winter this year. Love the flower pictures – so colorful!
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I like that “Bummer Summer” – it was indeed. I feel the same way, when there were stellar days, appointments or obligations had to be accomplished. The Labor Day holiday weather was nothing special and this weekend’s weather will be rainy both days. Glad you liked the flowers – that is a perennial garden at Fairlane Estate – very pretty.
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Miss Linda……………………………I enjoyed……………”hummingbirds are googling flight plans………”……………………………and congratulations on your: 999 by Labor Day!!
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Beautiful your targeted to 999to congratulations, best of luck. Wonderful photography. Be happy! Lovely flowers photos. I like !
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Yes, I am really glad I made that 999-mile goal for walking rajkkhoja. Now to get myself to the end of the year for me as well as the car and see if I can do it. Glad you liked the bees and flowers too.
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Glad you liked that line Ann Marie. 🙂 I follow my former HVAC tech, now an owner (with his wife) of the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Woodhaven on Facebook. He posts updates on the hummingbirds’ departure and arrival dates every year and encourages people to keep putting out their feeders until the last one has left. Thank you! I am sure you have walked as many miles as me thus far this year, or pretty close to it. I was happy to reach that mini-goal, now onward and upward to the end-of-year-goal.
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Thank you so much. Iam so happy. Now there weather is hot. Here is now raining.
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You probably need the rain like a lot of places, but I am certain you do NOT need the heat!
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Linda…………………………..I have a sore right hip snd do walk but no longer as far…………………….any day now I’m going to get up earlier like before and walk the full hour like I want to………………….if I don’t take a tylenol and rub down my leg with Voltaren I limp when i walk I’m still getting the steroid injections instead of getting any surgery………………….so I feel good to hear how much you are walking
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Ann Marie – I’m sorry to hear this. You are such an avid walker ever since you retired and I’m sure this is a real blow to you and your walking regimen. Yes, do what you can with topical treatments, even steroid injections, to avoid any surgery. My mom had steroid injections into her knee area because the docs did not want to do a knee replacement and they helped out for a few months after each injection. Those needles were very long – when I took her to appointments, I had to look away when the needle was given.
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Even though every summer seems to be “unusual” when it comes to the weather now, we made it even more so by relocating to the hot/humid South (in August, no less), from the high/dry Rocky Mountains. It’s been an adjustment, to say the least. However, we didn’t anticipate the heat dome now hovering over the Western states. Our family members in California and Colorado are experiencing temperatures 10 and 20 degrees higher than ours. Who would’ve guessed it?
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You will be dealing with hot and humid conditions where you are now Dave for sure. I would agree that is a huge adjustment for you. I had a friend who grew up there and said it is downright oppressive sometimes in the Summer. Everyone wears linen to stay cool according to my friend. A fellow blogger just wrote that they are visiting Utah and it has been 100 degrees for days.
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Your weather this summer must win some type of award on the crummy scale! Despite some excessive heat, we’ve had good weather, including some ver needed rain. All the weeds germinated this summer! I got my exercise pulling them up. I promised myself I would take a decent hike once a week, but that did not come to pass. I have been getting in quite a few mountain bike rides, though, which is good.
Your flower pics are so cheery! Enjoy your full weather, Linda.
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Yes, our weather wouldn’t win any nice prizes this year but at last it is not as bad as those who are living in California and some Southern states, but it’s been plenty erratic. The weeds took off here too from bouts of heat, then rain – I gave up on them and only pulled what was visible from the street. The mountain bike rides sound fun Eileen. Glad you liked the flowers – there are from a tribute garden at the Henry and Clara Ford Estate.
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The heat hasn’t bothered me a bit Linda, I just stay in the A/C house. Lol So happy you are keeping up with your walking goal. It will be time for new shoes again. The mileage on your car is crazy! Your pictures of the flowers are so pretty. I haven’t seen a male hummingbird in the past week, they say if the hummingbirds leave early it’s going to be a bad winter. I hope not!
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I am tempted sometimes to do just that Diane. But a few times I have walked at Meijer if it was sweltering outside. I just did that this past Sunday as it was so hot and humid. I am really aiming to get to 9,999 miles for the car. I had it in the shop for two weeks for A/C issues and some quirky electrical issues back in May and have to take it in tomorrow with a small leak. It doesn’t leak on short trips, but want to take it in now before Fall, my favorite time of year to get out and about. I hope that theory about hummingbirds is wrong too. I have heard we will have a warm Fall through October, so I hope they are right about that weather prediction. Call the hummingbirds back!
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👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Congratulations, Linda, you’ve done so well in reaching your goals so far with the challenges of the weather. Nice chalk drawing!! Wow – that’s low mileage, you could sell it for a fortune right now. Used cars with low mileage are hot commodities. I smiled remembering the years of using just a fan to stay cool. I was excited to get a job at 16 so I could work in the A/C. I’m cheering you on so you meet your fall goals and are blessed with beautiful weather while you’re out completing the goals!
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Thanks Shelley! I have heard we will be having a warmer-than-usual September and October, so I hope that will help to ensure I make both goals and don’t have to worry about sneaky snowstorms in November like we had a couple of years ago with a foot of snow on Veterans Day. Michigan was a Wisconsin wannabee that day. 🙂 The car has such low mileage because when I started walking I wanted to walk more miles than I drove so that I could “report” that fact at the end of the year when I recapped my miles. I used to mention more in my posts that I was neck in neck with my car miles, then the mechanic said “drive that car more than you are, or you will have issues!” Yes, a party pooper.
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So far September is warmer than I expected it to be. I’m not complaining because I’ve been enjoying the longer summer! While we will have rain this weekend, you’ll be having the nice calm and warm weather we’ve been having this week.
That’s right about cars…they do seize up if they don’t run occasionally. Since I work from home, I have to remember to drive my car or tell my husband to take it on errands. I’ve never compared it to my walking miles though – that’s a clever twist to the challenge.
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We had an absolutely gorgeous day again today … I took the car in, then walked to the Park. It was a small oil leak and I’ll get it back tomorrow. And part of the problem is that seals dry up and cause issues, leaking, etc. That is the problem this time. If it was up to me, I’d just walk every weekday morning to the Park, but I know I have to drive it more. I did have fun with that neck-in-neck mileage as early in my walking regimen, I was doing half the walking mileage that I do now.
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Yay for a gorgeous day and a small fixable leak!! It’s a good thing that you’re walking more than driving – it’s good for your heart!
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Yes, I got a walk in this morning and another one (but shorter) tonight to pick up the car. I told them I hoped not to see them again in 2022 (although I told them that in May!). Yes it is good for your heart. I used to ride my exercise bike as well as walk, but that was BB (before blogging).
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BB, I love it, our secret code!
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I like your line about sizzling like a bacon in this heat. That was us this week! I usually love summer but this one was a challenge with the extra heat and dryness around us.
Hope you get more miles in before the weather cools down dramatically for you. You seem to experience more dramatic fluctuations with snow, rain, thunder…ack! But the autumn leaves changing will be fantastic.
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Thanks Esther – it was quite the Summer for us as we never get that many horribly hot and humid days. Yes, we sizzled like bacon. 🙂 I was glad I had saved that meme about baking the lasagna in the mailbox as I had mentioned it to you a few weeks before. Your weather was no longer front and center due to the Queen’s passing, so with the exception of the Mosquito Wildfire, I’ve hardly heard anymore about the heat and hoped everything was okay with you. We had a gray day with some rain off and on today but I understand we will be having a very warm September and October – that should help me bulk up the miles. Peak for our leaf color here in Southeast Michigan will be the week of October 10th, so I hope the weather cooperates with no rain to get some pretty photos.
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I am not a hot weather fan at all. But mailbox lasagna sounds kind of fun, actually.
At over 700, you are really piling the miles on the Buick this year!
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You bet I am JP. 🙂 I had an oil leak and took it to the shop last week, so I lost two valuable days of trying to reach my year-end goal. The shop had to reseal the engine oil pan and I got new oil. So, the new sticker says to return at 12,849 miles. I get an oil change once a year, which is okayed by the oil change place I’ve gone to for years. I won’t reach 12,849 for another two, but more likely three years.
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I always, very earnestly, swear that I won’t complain about winter – or summer – when I am in the middle of the other. I will still be complaining about the heat probably another month. In no time at all, I will be complaining about the cold. I think it’s human nature.
I inherited the car at something around 35,000 miles. I haven’t gotten an oil change in 4 or 5 years. I’m still not at 37k when it is due. Sometimes I think I should sell it but I do appreciate the independence it gives me, even if it’s just a little.
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You’re right Zazzy – it’s human nature to complain and then switch gears and complain some more. My car should get to 9,999 miles this year. I only get an oil change once a year but just had an oil leak and the mechanics at the shop used a different type of oil (non-synthetic) when they did the repair. Today I went out to drive it (as they say I have to drive it more) and had an oil leak in the garage. This after picking it up after the oil leak repair last Friday night. Not happy about that at all. When the car was newer, I tried to walk more than I drove every year, then the mechanic told me I had to drive it more or I’d have electrical issues, which I did get. I don’t like expressway driving at all, so most of my miles are from surface streets.
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Fun post Linda
And glad I came back to read t as I am a little behind in my visits
And while I know I cannot read all
Posts if I get behind – I am glad to have read this one —
Partly because just this week we had a our first chill of
Fall and so your post (form the 5th) was extra fitting here in Virginia on the 18th!
Smes at the idea of hummingbirds googling flight plans!
And imaging the workers sleeping the park reminded us of much different times indeed
–
And here in VA we didn’t have too crazy if weather – thankfully
But plenty of hit days and I am ready for blankets and sweaters – and really ready to stop watering the flowers
That has only happened once before where I was “done” by early September and just glad to have a new season
—
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I’ve been behind for a couple of weeks Yvette and started out last night a week behind. It is hard to keep up, but I’m glad you visited these posts, including this one. We had a beautifully cool week last week but yesterday and today got to 85 and very muggy. After Wednesday, we go to cool weather for the first of Fall. I’m “done” with Summer as well, even though I’m no fan of ice and snow. I’m ready for crisp and cool and sweater weather. Bring it on!
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Yes – bring it one and I like how you said “cardigan” weather –
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