Bright Ideas

I like to sleep with the window open in our bedroom. Fresh air, right? It can also bring in cold air. And our bedroom window opens just behind my head. If my husband slept on my side of the bed, he’d need a bed cap to protect his bald head!

I have thick hair on one side of my head and thinner hair on the other side, so I like to pull the quilt over my head and keep it warm all night.

Unlike cities with all their paved streets and tall buildings, our outdoor temperature can get very cool, even in summer. I remember many years ago, when my mother and step-dad made their summer visit to see my kids.

It might have been the Fourth of July or close. Kansas temperatures had been brutal that summer, and nights never cooled much. We’d had a hot day, but overnight dropped to the 40s.

It was Wednesday, and I was headed to work early in the morning to finish the paper. Mom and Tom had slept with their bedroom window open, and it had cooled overnight. As I neared the car, Tom stuck his head out the window and asked, “How cold DID IT GET?”

I answered, “46.” He could not even remember what 46 degrees felt like.

Rapid City weather forecasts make educated speculations at our overnight lows, but are often five to ten degrees high. When predictions warn of low 40s, we prepare for low 30s. It never hurts to be prepared.

Many years ago a local man came to the house to inquire about average first frost day. It was mid to late August, and frost covered everything the next morning, fully a month before the average which is in September. We marked that date this week.

I’m writing this on the 16th of September, with cooler weather forecast for next week. Our cucumber patch is just now gearing up production of future pickles. Will frost settle on the pickle factory and end the production of dill spears and slices?

Let’s hold our collective breath and hope for the best.