Here we are, late April in southern California, and we’re somewhere around 101-109 degrees F, depending on which source you want to believe. It’s really hot.

But we haven’t yet turned on the air conditioning.

We’re coping by dressing cool, first of all. I have a ceiling fan over my desk, and we’re going to have to start pulling more out if this keeps up.

We’ll also have to pull out the cardboard and blankets to cover windows, so that we can keep the heat out.

These are things that have worked well for us in the past. We often get by with very little air conditioner use even on the really hot days.

Some of it is just adaptation. My indoor thermometer is showing 86 degrees, and I’m comfortable. It really doesn’t seem that bad.

Another factor is that the attic air hasn’t warmed up all the way yet, so the house isn’t retaining so much heat through the night, giving it an early start in the morning. At least that’s my best guess for what’s happening. The house certainly seems to heat up faster when we have a lot of hot days and warm nights, but give equally hot days but compare a warm night to a cool night, and the house doesn’t seem to heat up so much the days after a cool night.

My husband went out and gave the garden some water this morning, and we’ll no doubt have to keep a sharp eye out for wilting if this heat keeps up. I’d sure hate to lose the garden this early. But it’s going to take some careful watering in the mornings and evenings to manage things well.

And yes, the picture was taken near my home. We’re this hot and slightly cloudy, which makes things outside really deceptive.

Oh, and the outside temperatures are now claiming 104 degrees as a minimum. It’s changed even since I started typing this.