Losing my momentum

[GoodDaughter]

I guess it's the heat. I've been working like a horse the past few months, well, all winter, spring and up until just a week or so ago. I've gotten a lot of little but important things done over the past five or six months. Lots of cosmetic but necessary things to the exterior of the house done, stripped and stained the porch decks, put up shutters, pediments and aprons around the windows, painted the gable ends a nice color to match the shutters etc and the foundation wall, just all kinds of things. The place looks a lot better. Gardens were put in and tended and are winding down now, did some canning. Cleaned out the storage buildings and garage, really got them in shape and threw away a lot of pure junk. And now, I'm out of motivation.

It's so hot all I do is go out in the evenings and water the plants, the garden. I've got a very small second planting of Emerald okra and Sugar Baby watermelons going, I hope they produce. Sure would be nice.

Does anyone else lose their momentum over the summer? Is it the heat? Sure seems to make things miserable. I can work like a horse outside all fall, winter and spring, but when it gets hot...forget it.

[mom]

Sometimes your body is smarter than your brain and it is telling you to take a break. Find a good book, have an adult beverage if you are inclined that way, sit and watch a sunrise or a sunset. Rest. You need it. Your body needs some time to recharge and so does your mind. You will be surprised how much more you can accomplish after a few days off.

[rAcErRicK]

Hey Mom, is that like "it's the woodcutter that stops to sharpen his axe that cuts the most wood" ?

rick

[mom]

Hey Mom, is that like "it's the woodcutter that stops to sharpen his axe that cuts the most wood" ?

rick
I guess that would be it.

[Shamrock1121]

I'm a winter person - colder is ALWAYS better. :D I scoop the snow and hubby mows the lawn - what a deal! I tell hubby I want to die shoveling the drive - lying there in a deep snow drift with a soft snow drifting down over me. Even when I do finally get "cold", I just enjoy it! Must be my northern European heritage, or something...

I suffered heat stroke several times in my life (good old Kansas 100°F+ with 100% humidity), so there's NO heat for me anymore. I have to avoid extreme heat or I'll get sick.

I do as much as possible in the early a.m. (got up this morning at 4 a.m. to bake hubby a birthday goody to take to work with him.) Finished in the garden around 7 a.m.

I even hate the word AUGUST :P. What a worthless month - extreme heat and not even a stupid made-up holiday to give folks a bit of respite.

I'll soon be heard mumbling - "If we could only get the low's in the 50's".... Now that we officially hit the century mark yesterday will have extreme heat until September or October, there's absolutely NO hope for cool weather in the near future.

The first cool day in the fall, I'll become a completely different person. It's like wearing a ball and chain all summer.

My SIL, who's in the Army, is currantly training in the dessert someplace - and he's LOVING the heat. :o

-Karen

[GoodDaughter]

Oh, yeah, it will be time to split firewood soon... :P I still have about half a cord from last winter, and have some oaks already arranged to go cut them, but ugh....

I've had heat stroke or heat exhaustion, whatever the clinically correct term for it is, twice in my life. It can be life threatening if it's not caught quickly. The first time, I spent three days on the sofa in a total stupor--I have very little memory of laying there. It was like being drugged. The second time I caught it before it got that far, but I still was out of commission for about a week. And yeah, once you've had full blown heat stroke, it affects you for the rest of your life for some reason.

I do feel like resting. In fact, the last few days, I feel like Im exhausted about two hours after I get up in the mornings. Been taking my vitamin, some extra potassium as per the doctor's suggestion because I work outside so much and sweat so much. Been eating a light diet, mostly vegetables, fruit, and lean meat, not much potatoes or starches. Too hot for a heavy diet. I'm just pooped out.

I think I'm going to focus on doing stuff inside. I need to finish cleaning out the master closet (mistress closet?) and take a few boxes of stuff to donate at the resale shop. Maybe go buy a few shelf brackets and put up a couple of shelves out in one of the storage buildings that really needs it. I have a junky, old, noisy little 110v. air conditioner in one of the storage buildings in the window--sometimes when I am doing something in the building I turn it on, it helps a lot.

[bookwormom]

Losing my momentum? this time of year I have lost it. what's worse, I worked so hard for so little. I have been saying "I am sick and tired...' and you know what? I got sick, have the worst sinus infection I ever had and it won't budge. And I am so tired I fell asleep in my chair this afternoon. so be careful what you say..
oh, shamrock. what do you mean we are going to have no reprieve of this until October? I sure hope you are wrong. What is the century mark? never heard of it.
Last summer the drought I endured patiently, this year, well, I am sick and tired I guess.

[Drawbar]

I've been busy trying to get wood cut for other people and Saturday was bad. I would fell a tree and then have to stop and take a break. I was just so winded.I thought for awhile I was having a heart attack. My chest hurt, I had no stamina and my left arm arched. I kept going, but kept having to take breaks. I think I was really alright, but man was I beat.

(I later found out it was 95º out and high humidity...unheard of here in Maine)

As for the logger who sharpens his ax...that was funny. Yesterday I went in to finish up a 6 cord order. After a few hours I dropped a tree on my small saw and had to come home and grab my big saw. My first tree I cut with that saw, I hit a rock and dulled my saw. That was it. I figured it was time to stop and fight the battle another day.

As for winter...summer sucks. I live for winter. Snowmobiling, hockey, logging, those are all winter activities. No snakes in winter either. None in this picture mind you.

http://www.railroadmachinist.com/images/Windy_Tractor.JPG

[Cil]

GD, you are NOT to feel guilty about wanting to take a few or more [ ;)] days break. From what you wrote, you deserve it. *8)

[flatwater]

Gooddaughter, If I would have written that post I would have said the same thing word for word. From September to early june I can accomplish gobs of work but when the heat arrives I shut down pretty much.
Flatwater

[whippersnapper]

Yep, I'm ready for cold weather.... :P

[Naughty_Pines]

All of this work talk made me tired, *I'm gonna go take a nap.

Jerry aka NP *8)

[GoodDaughter]

Love that picture--now that's the stuff! *:D *But be careful working out in the heat if it's 95 and you're not accustomed to it. You don't want to end up in the e.r. *I can physically endure it if I have to, it's just so incredibly uncomfortable to do so that I avoid it if I can. *

Here, the worst months are July, August and Sept., right up to the end of the month. Three years ago we had Hurricane Rita go through mid-Sept., and in the wake of it, it was over 100 degrees and no electricity except for what my dinky little 3500 watt generator could supply, but it kept one little 110v window air conditioner going and the freezer, so I was content, if not happy. Too much storm damage to be happy. *:'(

I do a heck of a lot of work over the winter too. That's the time to get the heavy work done.

I am managing to get by with the minimum outdoors--keeping the grass cut, taking care of what's left of the garden, and taking care of the hens. Been doing some concrete work every weekend for the past three weeks, but boy, I dread it this weekend. I am trying to finish a long, LONG overdue project that I want to complete before I die.

I just keep pushing myself to go outside and work. Just keep pushing.

It was just at 100 today.

[EarthMother]

I'm so happy to know that it isn't necessarily old age getting me. It's just the heat. I agree about being sick & tired. Shoot, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. :P

[GoodDaughter]

I don't think it's age, either.

Speaking of age... ::) I went last week to get a few treated boards to knock together some forms for my little concrete project. I went to the small, local Ace hardware because I only needed a few boards. So I drive around back to get my few boards, and this guy comes huffing and puffing out, griping about them, in his words, 'sending an old man to do a young man's job', like loading a few boards is just horribly hard. I laughingly asked him 'Well how old are you? You don't look very old!" And you know what he tells me? HE'S 38! :o OMG, that's ancient!!

NOT.

I laughed again and told him I am 43, and I'd load the boards if he wanted to, because I only had a few. And you know what? HE LET ME.

What a lazy goat.

[Deberosa]

I experience the same thing - working like crazy all spring, then harvesting hits not to mention the weeding and I burn out about August. Seems so amazing since I spend the winter wanting spring to get here - go figure! Guess that's all part of it.

[Drawbar]

I do a lot of logging every year and I try my best to get that done in the winter. First the leafs are off the trees so its easier to see things and easier to cut wood, and the ground is frozen so you can get around in the woods better, but mostly because its cooler. I found 20º is just about right for logging.

Last winter we got snow every 3½ days so by Feb there was 4 feet on the ground. My little tractor just wouldn't go in all that snow. So now I am cutting wood in the heat. Thankfully I only got 4 more cord to harvest and I will have my firewood orders filled.

I just can't take the heat, but luckily I live in Maine and its seldom this hot. This week its supposed to rain all week and be in the 60's-70's so I can handle that.

[walls0stone]

I'd say that for me, the momentem is lost when the people in my wife's clan..a bunch of softhanded city people... act like summer is for fun. I'm from a farm...summer is for more work. The sun is up longer and your making hay. As A kid, I'd wake up from nightmares yelling "more hay" and all the pillows were tossed to the other side of the room.

Any how, it's all the distractions. We have 3 Birthdays in July. Family time is sundays and holidays. people telling you what they are doing with their time off...toss in the teachers who boast about all that time off doing nothing... it gets you down.

[TNDadx4]

I'm the same way. I love the cooler months. As much as I want to get more done during the summer, the heat is too much. It takes away my "will" do do things around our place.

It's early morning or late work or nothing with this heat.

Weather for today is supposed to be 97 with scattered showers... yuck

[Suzy]

Summertime in Alabama is about one word and one word only: HUMIDITY!

I'm tired of the heat, and the snakes, and SUMMER....I am revitalized in the cooler days of fall and winter...

I LOVED the weather when I lived temporarily in South Dakota!!!! But Alabama is home....

Remember, we Southern girls don't sweat, WE GLISTEN!!!

[sbemt456]

At 45 I guess I am doing OK, when the garden stuff gets ready. The heat and humidity here in East Kentucky has been really bad the past few days, but yesterday and today we got much needed rain which helped. I dont mind the heat at all. I have been in the garden picking beans at noon and it 100 with high humidity and sweat and keep picking. Our beans are in mass production right now, so make hay while the sun shines. We pick cukes every other day and make pickles, tomatoes picked every day as well as beans and squash. I have picked about 2 gallon of blackberries this afternoon and got them in the freezer. Had already picked about 5 gallon and canned and made jam from them.
I guess what really motivates me is the price of food these days. My oldest son lives in the Georgetown area and he and a friend went to the local farmers market looking around. They said the green beans were selling for 2.50 per lb, that is out of hand. Corn was 30 cents per ear. Wish I had a bigger garden. I really feel sorry for people who dont or cant grow their own food. I guess that is one reason I can keep going hot, cold, rain or shine.

Have a great day and stay cool!

stella

[Drawbar]

I'd say that for me, the momentem is lost when the people in my wife's clan..a bunch of softhanded city people... act like summer is for fun. I'm from a farm...summer is for more work. The sun is up longer and your making hay. As A kid, I'd wake up from nightmares yelling "more hay" and all the pillows were tossed to the other side of the room.

Any how, it's all the distractions. We have 3 Birthdays in July. Family time is sundays and holidays. people telling you what they are doing with their time off...toss in the teachers who boast about all that time off doing nothing... it gets you down.

You got that right. I am married to a teacher so after working as a machinist all week, doing fill-in work at the farm on the weekends, or cutting wood if there is no farming, I am beat. She on the other hand is always ready to go somewhere and do something. I just want to relax when I get home and she is ready for me to deal with the baby for awhile. It can have its tense moments.

As for farming in the summer...yeah its hectic. Man I wanted to play baseball when I was a kid, but "I had to work the farm." Never got to play, but Hockey was alright since it was in the winter and our"slow time". The same can be said for snowmobiling. Working the farm was the reason I like winter to this day. It was the only time we could relax. Even now I cut wood until the snow gets deep, then its off on my sled.

My wife wonders how I can do that. Take off in -22 F with winds blowing 20 mph and have fun. I wonder how she can sit in the house and watch re-runs of Fresh prince of Bellaire?

http://www.railroadmachinist.com/images/Vector_Mtn_Sled.jpg

[walls0stone]

That's the other factor however...in regaurds to momentem. Here we have lots of young people who would wake up, milk, go to school, then go play a sport, then come right home...work 3 hours..go do home work, sleep. If you wanted to play a sport, you had to realy want it. Those same people are still close friends and they still have a drive.

Friend of mine works at a New York City Prison...he was made for this sort of work..but when he was 8, he slepted 5 hours a night, had perfect marks in school and was in some sports.

For his job now, he pulls all kinds of double shifts and has been granted many "attaboys" at work for going above and beyond and says..this job is cake compared to working back on the farm, it's just as deadly, but your not covered in S*** when you come home :)

It's all about pesepctive.

[OzarkMtnDaredevil]

A wise old man once told me, "Boy. When it's hot, you wish it was cold. When it's cold, you wish it was hot. Seems to me you're wishing your life away. Always remember this...There ain't no bad weather, just different kinds of good weather".
I'll never forget that and I think it applies to more things in life than just the Weather. I think he knew it, too.

Still, I got really exhausted on Monday replacing the starter on the mower and then mowing in 99* heat and 80% humidity. A breeze would have been nice. :'(

[QueenoftheFlock]

We aren't having too bad of a summer here in Missouri. But I am like the rest of you (MY PEOPLE!) and I love winter. Anything over about 70 degrees puts me in a bad mood >:(
A few years ago, I got a kidney infection over the summer because I supposedly wasn't "drinking enough." How can that be, I wondered, since I am never without a water bottle or something to drink? Doc told me that people really under estimate how hard they work and how much they sweat in the summer - even those who are big "drinkers" and aware that you need to replenish.
That all being said, give me 20 degrees any day!

[EarthMother]

[

Any how, it's all the distractions. *We have 3 Birthdays in July. Family time is sundays and holidays. *people telling you what they are doing with their time off...toss in the teachers who boast about all that time off doing nothing... it gets you down. [/quote]

Think of it this way, you at least know how to survive in all kinds of situations what about them... remember the ant vs the grasshopper?

[GoodDaughter]

Well, I dragged around all thru the week and didn't get a whole lot done. Swore I wasn't going to kill myself working outside this weekend. And I didn't Saturday. But I forgot the Commandment about keeping the Sabbath holy, and today after church I went home and went to work. I got about 80 ft. of old junky looking dog pen fence removed and the posts pulled out of the ground. Dug five post holes and cemented some poles into the ground and strung about 40 ft. welded wire fencing and toward the end of the evening I hung a 12' wide galvanized metal gate I scrounged up for free. The gate has some surface rust on the bottom bar, so I'll need to paint it soon and the posts too. What I did was basically tear out the old dog pen, which was rectangular in shape, and then just ran the new fencing and gate across the side yard where the dog pen was. It looks a lot neater out there, more open.

It was just at 100F today. I was working VERY slowly.

I'm hoping my momentum comes back soon. I feel lazy and worthless when I don't get things done.

Which reminds me, I need to go move the scarecrows to keep the birds out of the fruit trees.