Surviving a heat wave

 

Too hot to enjoy, July 2022

We had record breaking heat this past week, with three days of staying inside as much as possible with all the curtains closed.  Luckily, thanks to my water conservation strategies in the kitchen garden--collecting rainwater, reusing gray water, keeping bare ground covered, and (saving the best for last) building soil--no plants were damaged.  I employ the last two strategies at the allotment and it too suffered no losses;  even the recently transplanted beets are still happily expanding, though I made sure to water them and everything in containers at least daily.  

We also took the decision to bring the chickens back home for the duration, as there is no real shade for them at the allotment, other than a little lean-to in their yard.  At home their yard is under our mature horse chestnut tree, and though they were certainly too hot for comfort, they weren't hot enough to be in danger for their lives.  The ducks have plenty of shade in their large yard and got some fresh water in their muddy pond daily, so they fared better than the hens.

Incidently, transporting the chickens broke our little hen Cookie out of being broody, thankfully.  She was hunkered down in that cramped nest box for a couple weeks and not giving up, despite us taking her eggs every day. 

And after reaching 39.5C by my own thermometer, we thankfully fell back down to the low to mid 20s which is what we are used to for July.  And some rain too (also typical for July).