Currently (on Thu 5:53AM CDT from Pearland Regional Airport)

	Mostly Cloudy	Temp:	82° (Heat Index 90°)
		Dewpoint:	77°
		Wind:	S 6 MPH

And so starts my morning here before the sun even rises…Come on…Feels like 90° and the sun hasn’t even broached the horizon!

This should be a glorious day to follow the advice of the US Chamber of Commerce and fire up the AC unit. That’s what I read yesterday they were offering as a reason to not worry about global warming…It didn’t really matter ’cause we all have air conditioning now…At least they all do. I don’t see too many air conditioners in Sub Saharan Africa…Or the Amazon region of South America. Must be nice to be so oblivious.

For any non-weather geeks out there (from more temperate climes, I’m sure) here’s what the heat index is all about…

The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity in an attempt to determine the human-perceived equivalent temperature — how hot it feels, termed the felt air temperature. The human body normally cools itself by perspiration, or sweating, which evaporates and carries heat away from the body. However, when the relative humidity is high, the evaporation rate is reduced, so heat is removed from the body at a lower rate causing it to retain more heat than it would in dry air. Measurements have been taken based on subjective descriptions of how hot subjects feel for a given temperature and humidity, allowing an index to be made which relates one temperature and humidity combination to another at a higher temperature in drier air.

The heat index is derived from work carried out by Robert G. Steadman. Like the wind chill index, the heat index contains assumptions about the human body mass and height, clothing, and the wind speed. Significant deviations from these will result in heat index values which do not accurately reflect the perceived temperature.

via Heat index – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Aren’t the internets just great for having the answer to almost any question right there almost as fast as you can articulate it?

I spent my afternoon yesterday meditating on the “Deere”. I have to say this has been a topsy turvy year. Winter was about the warmest I can remember followed by a very hot and dry spring. The predominate color last spring was brown…June was a scorcher and July wasn’t much better. We finally had a bit of rain in August, but still the color of or world was brown. September brought more rains and now as October makes it way we are starting to actually look springlike.

For the past week I have been noticing more and more greens in the environment. The trees even look to be putting on fresh leaves. Yesterday I noticed the apple trees out back were blooming…Again. Now don’t take these apple blooms in fall as a full blown sign of anything. These trees have always been a little off. Since, by any stretch of the imagination, no one in there right mind would try and raise apples in this climate in the best of years, the fact that they continue to try and produce a crop is amazing.

I bought these trees from Stark Bro’s back when we first moved to this place. They were advertised for southern gardens. I think both of the remaining trees originated in Australia. Both trees were supposed to be semi dwarfs but in the 15 years they have been in the ground they have barely made it past head high. Most years our lack of cold weather has left them with leaves all winter long…So their continued confusion as to what season they are in can be understood…In their genes it is the beginning of spring…Down Under…

Oh well, time to finish the email and get ready for the Grandson…He should be up and running around soon…Besides, I need a second cup of coffee…

I hope your day is more of a seasonal nature.