Are you ready for Hot, Hot, Hot?

Flowers wilting
Sweet corn filling
Squash bugs multiplying
Mosquitoes biting
Weeds growing
Dogs panting
Crab grass spreading
Chiggers itching
Tomatoes need picking
Cold ice tea refreshing.

Are you ready for the heat index of 110 degrees today? Check out Kat's Rural Remedies to beat the heat:

1. I get up extra early to water plants and fill animal waterers as the sun rises. I get my daily dose of meditation while giving everything on the farm a refreshing splash of water.
2. The only product I use from the Avon company is something called "skin so soft". Pour a little in the grandkids bathwater to keep the chiggers and mosquitoes away. Give yourself a little splash in the shower; much nicer than chemical bug spray.
3. While the hose is running on the flowers in the morning, quickly pick the days harvest from your garden.
4. Got weeds? A little rock salt mixed with water in your sprayer can handle weeds better than chemicals. Just be careful where you spray it, plus mix and strain first to avoid clogging up the sprayer.
5. Recycle an old window air conditioners (a working one) by installing a small one in a garage window to keep the pets cool during the hottest part of the day. While this costs me a little in the pocket book on the electric bill, it saves me worrying about the Australian Shepherd overheating. I start it around noon and let 'Lady' rest for the afternoon in the garage. I turn it off as the evening cools off. Since my garage is attached, it cools the house a bit.
6. Fast ice tea. The Lipton family size Cold Brew bags are fast, fast, fast in a pitcher of cold water. I add two single green tea bags to up the antioxidants.
7. Drop a little vegetable oil on the silks of the growing sweet corn ears to keep worms away.
8. Recycle used aluminum foil by placing flat pieces around the squash plants: the bugs don't like the light reflection.
9. Time to watch those favorite movies and clean out the closets. During the heat of the day or those tremendously uncomfortable humid evenings, clean out the closets while listening to a favorite movie or your ipod music selections. You can take everything to the thrift store when its cooler this fall.
10. Stay away from the computer and work on your summer reading list instead. (Why stress yourself by reading about how hot it is across America?)