In case you missed the news, the Pacific Northwest just experienced an insane heat wave. We suffered several days in a row with soaring temperatures in the triple digits and oppressive humidity. In June. For reference, our first and I think only 100+ degree day last year came in August. According to Weather Atlas, “June begins the warm summer season in Washington with moderate sunshine and dry conditions. The average high temperatures are in the wonderful 65°F to 75°F range, while average low temperatures are in the comfortable 40°F to 50°F zone.” Ha!
With any extreme weather, it’s not only ourselves we have to keep safe. Whether that means knee-high snow drifts or sweltering heat, Bryon and I have to protect our animals. This past weekend involved lots of water refills, putting up extra shade, doling out frozen treats, and other added chores. Even early in the morning, the sweat would come on just walking outside, humidity hanging heavy around us. As the days lengthened, the air grew weightier and more stifling. By nighttime, Bryon and I were sticky and lethargic, having lugged buckets of water all over the place. In preparation, we made a meal plan for the weekend that didn’t involve cooking and turned our hot tub into a cold tub for reviving dips.
Bryon creatively repurposed the bird “scare eye” repellent as a temporary beach ball.
This year differed from the last heat spike in that we have more animals, spread further apart. Big chickens up on the hill, medium chicks in a pen near the bird yard, little chicks in the 20-12 chicken tractor behind the garden. Meanwhile, all bird yard pens were full: 1) Chinese geese 2) teenage turkeys 3) mama Muscovies and their babies 4) Welsh Harlequin ducks 5) other Muscovies and Lady the turkey and 6) the loosie goosie goslings. So we were filling and refilling multiple bowls and tubs in each location throughout the day/s. I eventually started hosing off all the panting birds. The geese seemed to enjoy it, everyone else ran squawking or quacking out of range.
Luckily, we made it through, a little worse for wear. Since we also had lots of plants to worry about, we watered them more often and moved around when possible. I lost some flowers, and my first little Black Krim tomato. (Luckily, another emerged to take its place.) Some plants now look like it’s end days, while the squash and peppers went bonkers. But I’m most grateful that our animals all survived. In a Western Washington poultry group I follow, many people shared how they lost one or more chickens. So I’m glad we didn’t have any major losses.
When thinking about the bigger picture of weather and climate change, though, I get really worried. It seems like it keeps getting hotter and droughts last longer and fires comes earlier. Not to mention the increase in floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Bryon and I are trying to do our part to practice sustainable agriculture, but there needs to be land left to sustain…
On a lighter note, here are some baby ducks trying to keep cool.
