L.A.'s official temperature is recorded by a National Weather Service thermometer in the downtown area. At around 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon, the thermometer soared to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. And then the thermometer broke! By the time an electronics technician could repair the damage, several hours passed. Since temps here usually peak around mid-afternoon, it's entirely possible that the temperature actually roared past 113!
We'll never know for sure.
What we do know is that it was hot everywhere in the city. Where I live, it hit 108 degrees. Awful! I hid indoors with the pugs all day, trying to keep cool. We only scooted out for very quick potty breaks (for the dogs, obvy). At 6:30 p.m., we all ventured outside, with the temperature still blasting away at an incredible 104 degrees.
I wanted to give the dogs a little break and assess the damage in the garden. Our roses looked like they'd been blow-torched:
They were crispy:
Roasted:
Toasted:
Fried roses are actually eerily beautiful:
The lawn looked pretty awful:
But then, our lawn never looks as good in the summer as it does in winter. We have a "winter mix" lawn. It looks its greenest around December. Just in time for all the winter holidays!Some things were happy in the intense heat. The Russian Sage looked just fine:
The hydrangeas survived the day surprisingly well. The big blossom heads were toast, but I also saw tight green buds and new, glossy leaves, proving that the old girls are hangin' in there:
And the pugs, who'd been cooped up all day because of the extreme heat, were bursting with energy:
Although it's possible there's been a little brain damage. But, how to tell for sure?
*whew*!!! We've been in the triple digits also, and today is expected to get to 103 -- not as hot as you were yesterday, but hot enough to fry my roses also (so sad). ("brain damage"? "hard to tell"? You're a "funny" pug-mom!!)
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