Since Stormbird and others (Maestro Tree Frog and progeny) have been calling out for rain in the evenings, we took the opportunity to plant out some buddleia plants (butterfly bush), two different types of ginger (native and edible), and some palm trees - to help fill in a pocket of rainforest canopy and provide food for insects and birds.
During late winter, masses of bees and native parrots feed on local palm blossoms (and later fruit) when little else is in flower. And in the long term, cool shade will be at a premium for all living things during the hot summers ahead.
Last week we were enjoying a few days of sunny, dry, hot and #summery weather. What else can you do but sit lazily in the #shade of a big tree?
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#ExtremeHeat Is Endangering America's Workers—and Its Economy
"Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C., based consumer rights advocacy group, estimates that extreme heat contributes to between 600 and 2,000 deaths a year, along with 170,000 injuries, making heat one of the three main causes of death and injury in the American #workplace.
In most American states, you can be fined for leaving a dog outside without water or shade."
[Workers don't have such protection].
"Why breaks, #water, and #shade for a sea of #US workers could trigger the next big labor battle.
...
It goes to show how heat isn’t necessarily what’s making workers sick, Barab says. “It’s really more employers’ refusal to implement measures to protect workers. That’s killing workers.”"
#shade#sail experiment so far. It's not a large amount of shade (12x12x12 triangle), but it IS strategic. Keeping morning sun out of one room and back patio is pleasant instead of searing. #heatwave#adaptation
#shade#sail temporarily mounted. Attempt to reduce sunlight hitting one side of the house during these heatwave, and to maybe make that side of the #patio usable in the morning. #heatwave#adaptation
Another warm day today, so here's some #science. Sitting in the #shade is not cooler than in the #sun. The air is the same #temperature. What makes a location in the sun feel warmer is due to objects—or yes, skin—absorbing and retaining direct radiant energy from the sun.
Also, we warm up a thin layer of air around us all the time; convection. Wind, a fan, or—shock horror!—moving will disperse this heated layer, allowing the air—which is generally cooler, unless the air temp approaches or is higher than body temperature—to cool you down. At blisteringly hot temps, the only thing your body can really do is thermoregulate itself through evaporation.
Being mostly in the shade, putting on a fan, and staying hydrated is good advice, but perhaps not for the reasons you think. Ultimately it’s not the sun, but your own body that makes you feel hot, and there are some simple solutions to make things More bearable, including the counterintuitive “moving”. #WarmDay#Heatwave#summer
"At midday, more than 35 million people in southern #Texas, #Louisiana and #Florida were under excessive #heat warnings, watches and advisories extending through the three-day Juneteenth weekend, the National Weather Service said.
The growing frequency and intensity of severe weather across the U.S. is symptomatic of human-driven #ClimateChange, climate scientists say."
"A law in Texas will soon override labor ordinances statewide that guarantee, among other things, construction workers are given 10-minute breaks to drink #water and #rest in the #shade."