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The hot sun beats down on the land. I close my summertime eyes and see Great Aunt Millie in her faded house dress. It is just after dinner in the dog days of summer and she is sitting in the shade slowly fanning herself with a newspaper. The battered straw hat sits beside her next to a glass of lemonade. Her calloused, tired feet are stuck in an old washtub of cool water. The big metal blades of the fan clatter and clank drawing the hot air out house, waiting for evening to cool the walls of the little farm house. Yes, Virginia, there was a time without air conditioning and we managed to get by, but summers were dangerous for those who were not careful about the heat.
Much has changed since my youth on the farm, but summers are still dangerous for those who are not careful about the heat and sun. Here are a few hints, tips and ideas for beating the heat and staying safe through the infamous, intolerable, interesting days of Texas summer 2008.
Water, water, water…and we are not talking about the grass or the garden here! Good hydration waylays many of the dangers of high temperature. Keep yourself well watered! A good rule of thumb is for every caffeinated beverage (coffee, soda, and tea) drink double the amount of water water. Fill your cup with water and drink it before and after that cup of coffee. That tall cool glass of iced tea should be preceded and followed by equal amounts of water. Clean and reuse plastic bottles. Keep them water filled and refrigerated for easy on the go watering. Making your own flavored waters can help in getting water into your system. Mix about ¼ juice and ¾ water, bottle and refrigerate. When you pass by the kitchen, you can snag a bottle of homemade, lightly flavored water. Grape, cranberry, pineapple and apple juices work well for this. Keep a collection container handy to pour off the liquid anytime you open a can of fruit packed in natural juice. Add a few drops of red food color and do the water/juice mix for a lively and interesting fruit punch flavor.
Do not be bugged by bugs, especially those pesky little mosquitoes! Not only do skeeter bites hurt and itch, they can carry a wide variety of diseases. A handy hint for avoiding mosquitoes is to keep them from procreating! These annoying insects lay their eggs in standing water. Even a can lying sideways on the ground can collect enough water for a mosquito nursery. Check your property regularly and eliminate mosquito breeding places. There are many non-toxic repellents and nature friendly ways to decrease the mosquito population. Marigolds are a lovely little trick to keep the beasts at bay. The smell of marigolds is noxious to mosquitoes. They are pretty flowers, easy to grow and popping the dead heads off will keep marigolds blooming prolifically all summer. So toss some seeds in the earth, in pots or planters…then use that standing water to keep the flowers growing and the mosquitoes going!
Sunshine on my shoulders can cause sunburn...even on overcast days and most especially near a lake, pool or other body of water! During the summer, sunscreen needs to be the daily treatment for arms, faces and other exposed skin. Do not wait until you are in the sun to think of it, use sunscreen as a daily treatment each morning after the face washing and teeth brushing. Wearing a hat and UV resistant sunglasses also cuts back on the damage of sun and keeps the body several degrees cooler. Take advantage of any shade you can find and if none is available, a sturdy umbrella creates an immediate, mobile patch of shade. Regardless of using care, at least once a most of us will have some degree of sunburn. The old standby of vinegar water is still a good solution for soothing the skin and taking out some of the burning sensation. The juice from a fat, wet stem of an aloe plant is another natural soothing agent for burns. Cloths dampened with vinegar and laid gently on sunburn can help cool it down enough to get to sleep.
Children at play out of school for the summer are another safety consideration. For parents the rule is keep those kiddos wet, inside and out. Have plenty of non-caffeinated beverages handy. Many children will enjoy making their own personal flavored waters. Let the child draw or write on a ¼ sheet of copy paper and tape it around the bottles as a "sleeve" to identify who made which water. Running in a sprinkler or dips in the pool are great summertime coolers for kids…but do remember the sunscreen and/or a t-shirt to protect from burn. For everyone, careful driving and triple checking for kids at play can help insure that one chasing a ball or the other new to bike riding are not harmed by an encounter with an automobile!
Enjoy those crazy, lazy, hazy days of summer this year, with a close eye to safety. Make your summertime companions water, insect repellent, sunscreen and a fun loving attitude…and savor the sweetness.
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