If you are living in the northwest (in the U.S.) or the southwest (in B.C.), your body has probably had to acclimate to a different climate this summer. Being born and raised in the Las Vegas desert, the constant heat was one of the reasons why I left. The last 3-4 months in the Seattle area has felt just like living back in Nevada, only without air conditioning!

The creek

It seems we have all become one with our new climate; especially those with air already installed. The rest of us have had to become clever in finding ways to keep cool. The box fan industry has done quite well; I think most homes now have one fan for every room. During the day when the temperature is high, you turn the fan to blow the hot air out. At night when a slight chill hits the air, you turn the fan to blow in, on full blast, creating a wind storm that when it hits your body it feels cool.

Seattle has a nickname, “The Emerald City” because of it’s lush green forests and parks within the city. Looking around the neighborhoods after this hot summer we’ve had, other than the random home that watered their lawn every day, it’s anything but green! Because of the lack of water everywhere and drought conditions, most of us are just allowing nature to take its course. Most of our grass is dead.

My husband has been fighting moss in our back yard for years and this year, nature took care of it for him. My daughter has had the job of mowing all summer long and due to the dead grass conditions; there is nothing left to mow. No longer does she make $10 a week to keep it cut. For the first time in her life, my daughter now has to take seasonal allergy medication because, with the heat, it has a totally different effect on her.

Waterfall under bridge

This morning I heard a sound I haven’t heard most of the summer. Our creek was roaring! The creek behind our house has become but a trickle for the first time in 16 years. Today I heard the white noise again and quickly went to record it because I forgot how a waterfall sounds in my back yard. The water was so clean and fresh as it truly is new water from the overnight rain. Click here to see and hear my waterfall

It used to be in the northwest when the sun came out; you went outside to enjoy it. Now it seems we hide during the sunny days, and we come out to dance in the rain. We did that back in Las Vegas. Funny how the tide turns. Now if you aren’t in or near the water or in the mountains hiking, you have to find shade.

The part we are complaining about the most is we don’t remember how to be active with high humidity. In Ohio, you would have 90 degrees and 90% humidity. That was great for Ohio because I wasn’t active in Ohio! Now I walk fast 6-8 miles daily (oh we have hills) and play soccer weekly, and the humidity is brutal! My daughter is on two soccer teams, practicing every day this week, 2-a-days for four days straight and she is dragging! Humidity sucks the life right out of you!

We used to say, “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes”. That isn’t the case any longer. Is the hot, dry summer going to be our new normal? According to one report I read a few months ago, we will be hotter and drier than normal through October of 2016. Click here to see the report. Does this mean we need to wait until it cools down to find a great deal on air conditioning? We weren’t going to pull the trigger during the summer because… well that’s when they know we want it bad and might pay anything to get it! It looks like we just might have to. I keep thinking, “I’ve lived without it this long, it should be fine.” Once again it takes me back to Las Vegas. Do we gamble?