Posted on by Lesley

Hot nights and kittens

That sounds raunchier than it is, believe me.

We’re into week three of a heatwave here in the normally frozen wastes of 57°N. When summer temperatures here normally average around 14-16C°, the onslaught of a protracted run of 26-29C° days is a bit of a shock to the system.

Heat haze early morning

It’s worst at night. It’s hot, we don’t have air-conditioning, we don’t have shutters (we’re looking at that) and we can’t open the windows as we’re being plagued by midges without a breath of wind. It’s making us hot, tired and irritable.

We need to get some midge net frames made up for the windows so that we can ventilate. I thought that the MVHR system that we’d installed allowed us to fit a cooling system to it, but Hugh has re-checked and it appears that this particular model doesn’t have that ability. Due to supply issues during the pandemic this was swapped out from the original model that we’d chosen. So window ventilation it is, then. We must get this sorted.

I really didn’t expect this to be a problem in the highlands of Scotland, but with climate change causing ever greater volatility I’m guessing that these extreme weather conditions are only likely to get more frequent.

The kittens grow daily. The “no kittens in the bedroom” rule lasted precisely three days and after they’ve eaten breakfast they bound upstairs to play with the bedclothes. If Hugh or I are in the bed, all the more fun and opportunity for hunting stray limbs.

No cats on the bed

Things will be much easier once we can let them out. They’re very active now. They’re booked in for their first set of injections at the local vets tomorrow, at their nine week stage, and their second set will be at twelve weeks of age. After that I think we can tentatively swing open the doors and introduce them to the croft.

Definitely no play fights on the bed

In the meantime, we’ve cracked open our old London fans for airflow, resurrected the slightly rusty but still useful firepit for outdoor cooking, stocked the fridge with cold beers, gathered the ardirondack chairs around the front of the house, and are making the very best of it.

15 Replies to “Hot nights and kittens”

  1. We are dealing with heat, too. This year is supposed to be a strong El Nino year, pushing warm currents to the north. We should get a much warmer summer out of it, and a mild winter. Eventually, it will oscillate to a La Nina year, and we will get the opposite effect.

    The kittens will always get their way! Lol

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. So nice to read, and welcome to the world of kittens that nibble feet…well, anything out of the bed tbh. Midges yes, with you on that plus flies and mozzies at this time of year. Typically it has gone from cool (here) just after the 2 lots of guests have gone home to promises of 30+ degrees by the end of the week. The variance is quite jaw-dropping and we seem to be running a month late. Hey ho.

    Our 3 cats are a barometer – if they are out then it is going to be a nice day. If they are camped indoors, forget it, grab a duvet.

    Have fun,

    Dave (‘n Jules)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Good to know that we’ve acquired weather vanes in Freya and Fergus. I’ll be sure to tell you if they perform to order! On the weather front, I think everything seems a little out of kilter at the moment. Hope it doesn’t get too hot for you both. Stay frosty 😊

      Like

      Reply

  3. That’s surprisingly hot for Skye – phew! It is 34 C here with 50% humidity which is quite pleasant for the sub tropics. Our newish air con is malfunctioning but getting it fixed tomorrow. 🤞

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      3. My computer tells me that we have a record high for this time of year – 33 C. My poor wee squirrels are struggling to keep cool so I just put some ice in their water bowls. How about a paddle in the water?

        Liked by 1 person

  4. I suppose this heat wave (4 weeks and counting here) will balance out the extreme cold spell before Christmas and keep the averages steady! But my garden needs rain and so do I. I think you are right about Climate change making these extreme events more frequent.

    I don’t envy you your midges! But your kittens must give you a lot of fun.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment