A storm moved through about 4:30 and the temperatures dropped about twenty degrees Fahrenheit as it did so. It feels heavenly. There was a little hail mixed with the rain, but not large enough to cause damage. I hope I can get the house cooled down before bedtime. Last night, when Jack got home past mid-night, it was still 78F inside, despite the floor fan and open windows. We are starting to discuss getting a whole house fan before next summer, though the low pitch of the roof might make it tricky. Fortunately, Jack’s sister is a mechanical engineer who specializes in environmental systems for buildings, so we ought to be able to pump her for information.
Jack is spending most of his time this weekend at XIV-Khan, a local Science Fiction / Gaming Convention. He is promoting and trying to sell memberships to Cosine, a new science fiction convention to be held January 16, 2004 in Colorado Springs. This con is being sponsored by the science club to which we belong, and we feel honored that Barbara Hambly has consented to be our guest of honor.
Enlivened by the moderate temperatures, the dogs are fence-fighting with Smoke. Smoke is a 26 year old Quarter Horse gelding. You would think he would have more sense than to tease large predators. However, he seems to delight in driving the dogs into a screaming frenzy. He trots up and down the fence line, egging them on, and will sometimes gallop, buck and rear as well. For the sake of our peace, and that of the neighbors, we had to block off one end of the dog run, so there is a buffer zone most of the time between Smoke and the dogs. However, the new field shares one long stretch of fence with the dog run, and I have been letting the horses out most of the day the past few days. The grass is no longer so rich that I worry about Rags foundering. (Smoke no longer eats enough grass for me to worry.)
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