Reply #30: I look at Southern summer like the North looks at winter... [View All]

[jswordy]

In the North, winter is the time to go inside and do stuff, and to rest in many cases. In the South, we can work outdoors right through winter, and usually do, but the summer is our off-time. Though I must say, after 25 years here, I can move around in 100 degrees and humidity just fine. The secret for me is to delay turning on the a/c at home for as long as possible. Once you have that cold vs. hot thing going on, it makes the outside seem unbearable due to the contrast. Then, I like to get out in the early morning and stay out, so I gradually acclimate to the heat as it rises. I can stay out all day that way, but when I come in I am chilled to the bone!

But still, in the dog days of September and October, it is best to slow up, drink some sweet tea and relax a bit. The blush of semitropical growth that you have had to beat back from your home and lawn will have slowed by then, your lawn may even look a bit dryish, and you can kick back more.

Those days are when the big barbecue season comes in here. Every weekend is a party somewhere, complete with NASCAR on TV. I can't wait.