Cottesloe Beach - Sculptures by the Sea

What ya gonna do when the mercury hits 41.1C? Head to the beach, that's what. I think that half of Perth had that idea today. Luckily we managed to get a parking spot close by but it was certainly more good luck than good management. Otherwise we would have been stuck in traffic for the next quarter of an hour. They really do need to put a freeway running past the beach to deal with the number of vehicles.

The Boy had a go on his boogie board and had a great time. There was an exhibition on, Sculptures by the Sea, and there were some interesting pieces on display. Man, the beach and surroundings were busy. The queue at the fish and chip shop was horrendous. Glad we'd already had our tea.

Jupiter and Venus were out - almost together in the sky actually. I even spotted what I initially thought was a flare until I realised that it was moving far too quickly for a flare. It was a meteor in actual fact. Took a few photos of what was going on and we had some drinks too. Lovely way to spend an evening.

King of the Waves?

Photos

What Do You Do When The Forecast Is For 42 Degrees Celsius?

What do you do when the forecast temperature is 42 degrees C? Most normal people would go to work or those still on holidays might sleep in before lounging around the house for the day. In both cases you would expect the air conditioning to be put on.

The temperature reached 41.8 C when we went for our lunchtime walk. Some bastard had lit a fire in Kings Park at 6:30 in the morning. That's what he decided to do on a hot day. There wasn't a lot of smoke about as t had been contained pretty well.

Later that afternoon at 4pm it was ablaze again. We were having a sundowner at work so I decided to have a few drinks and play some pool before grabbing some photos of the smoke. It had died down a bit in the the two hours that I was busy but you get some idea of the fire.

Bushfire in Kings Park on 42 degrees Celsius day.

What a bloody jerk. Shooting is too good for him.

Boxing Day 2007 - Stinker Of A Day

Remember how I said Christmas Day was the second hottest on record this year? Well, Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, was an absolute stinker. The temperature hit 44.2 degrees Celsius (111.5 degrees Fahrenheit), with 44.5 reached at Perth Airport, so it was boiling.

I think that pumpkins, who aren't that keen on the hot weather, have an amazing built-in defence mechanism. During the hottest part of the day they wilt but when it becomes a bit cooler they spread their leaves out again. Quite extraordinary actually. One could go so far as to say one of nature's miracles. One could also stop blabbering now.

I took the photos below when the temp was 41 degrees Celsius. The temperature rose until it peaked at just over 44 degrees and I wouldn't have thought that the pumpkins enjoyed it too much. Thankfully it doesn't appear to have killed them off. Another couple of days of that weather would though.

Large Pumpkin Plant Hot - the temp was 41 degrees Celsius.

Small Pumpkin Plant Hot - the temp was 41 degrees Celsius.

Large Pumpkin Plant Cooler - the temp had dropped to the low thirties.

Small Pumpkin Plant Cooler - the temp had dropped to the low thirties.


My first tomato plant from out the back had died off. Seeing as it still had one or two tomatoes on it I decided to keep watering it. To my amazement it had a second growth spurt and once again looks like quite a healthy plant.

My crazy tomato plant out the back that has a second lease on life.