Still Needing Rain (2)

 The weather here has been very pleasant this week, with high temps in the mid 80s ºF. Some mornings and nights have felt downright chilly. Now the weather people are predicting rain for Saturday and Sunday, with thunder and lightning on Sunday. We need the rain.

We've been sleeping up in the loft, which can get boiling hot by late afternoon, despite the 8 inches of insulation that  we put in when we had the loft converted to living space back in 2010. I hope we don't have to sleep downstairs again next week.

That's because the weather services and sites are predicting another heat wave for us, starting Monday. They don't yet say how long it's going to last.

Down in the Bordeaux area, there have been two big forest fires this week. One of them is still burning in a place called Cap Ferret (pop. 8,000), just south of the city. Cap means "cape". It's a busy resort town. They say 30,000 people have been evacuated from the area, most of them tourists. Houses are already burning.

Still needing rain

Just when we had almost got used to early morning temps of about 80 F, now we have to get used to morning temps of about 60 F. That feels pretty chilly, as I can attest after this morning's 7 a.m. walk with Tasha...with me in long pants and a fleece jacket 

This is  first day in a month or more when I haven't had to throw open all our windows and doors at 5 a.m. to let in some relatively cool outdoor air. Today's high is supposed to be between  80 and 82 F. We've slept up in the loft now for three or four nights in a row.

Have I ever mentioned that the AC has gone out in both of our cars? In the Peugeot, it stopped working years ago, but it never mattered because we never drive it far or at high speeds. Mother Nature's AC has always been adequate. — but maybe not any more. In the Citroën, a slightly newer car, the AC probably needs maintenance in the form of a recharge of  the refrigerant fluid. The last time I asked my mechanic about it, he said he can't even get refrigerant any more. That was maybe 6 months ago. I bet refrigerant is even harder to come by now.

Plus ça change...

 ...plus nous sommes heureux et soulagés. We were able to sleep in the loft last night. It was  what I'd call very warm, but not hot up there.

Today's high temperature in the Saint-Aignan area will be about 85ºF, the forecasters say. We say yay! We're still waiting for some rain, and some is predicted to fall during the day. Fingers crossed.

Despondent

Despondent is the word that best describes my mood today. Blame my eyes (I'm half blind). Add in the extreme hot weather and the forest fires burning all around France.

This morning the Forêt de Fontainebleau, just a few miles south of Paris, is burning.  It's unbelievable.

There's talk  of a respite this week. We should get some rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday. I hope the weather forecasts are accurate this time.