How hot is it?

We work with wood for a living, but I think we should all qualify for dual degrees in carpentry and meteorology.  This week in particular, thoughts of structure and fine joinery have been pushed aside by more pressing concerns:  How to avoid heat stroke.  We watch the thermometer and try to chase the shade around the house and speak derisively of people who spend their days in air conditioning; doesn’t help much.  It can be curiously comforting, though, to get an objective confirmation that it’s really bloody hot outside, and that we’re not making it all up.  In this light, I was delighted to see that the tar patches on the road around Peters Hill in the Arnold Arboretum were starting to bubble.

Of course, I had to poke my finger in to see if there was a liquid center.

I should add that I spend much of my time driving from job to job these days, and the guys on the crew take the brunt of the weather, hot and cold.