It's not that hot!

What’s going on?

Honestly, I am grateful we have had lots of rain for the month of July. Oklahoma is usually dry, hot as hell, and hot. Did I say hot? 😊 And while the temperatures have been fairly moderate (mostly in the 80s and 90s), the humidity has been off the charts!

I know my readers live everywhere from Canada and Australia to Europe and all across the good ol’ United States—from coast to coast and sea to shining sea. Ha! Sounds like a song somebody once wrote.

Anyway, I’ve been hearing about floods, heat waves, wildfires, and storms, and I’m wondering what’s going on in your neck of the woods. Seriously—I want to know.

Think about what it was like not only to weather the weather in the 1800s, but where did people go and what did they do when disaster struck? Tornadoes. Floods. Fires. Drought. Blizzards. The list is endless, and there was no FEMA riding over the hill to rescue anyone.

If your barn burned, you rebuilt it.

If the river flooded, you waited for the water to go down and started over.

If a tornado took your house, your neighbors showed up with hammers, wagons, food, and whatever else they could spare.

People survived because they had each other.

That doesn’t mean life was easier. In many ways, it was unimaginably harder. A failed crop could mean a hungry winter. A washed-out bridge might leave a family isolated for weeks. A prairie fire could wipe out years of work in a single afternoon.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons I love writing western historical romance so much. Those men and women didn’t have many of the conveniences we take for granted today, but they possessed grit, determination, and an incredible sense of community. They understood that sometimes the only way through a disaster was together.

I wonder if it’s possible to practice a little more “together” in today’s crazy culture? I think we should at least consider it.

So now it’s your turn.

What’s the weather been like where you live this summer? Are you dealing with rain every day, blistering heat, smoke from wildfires, flooding, or maybe you’re one of the lucky ones enjoying beautiful weather? I know a friend of mine who lives in Pagosa Springs, Colorado is dealing with dry, dry, dry weather with no rain and water rationing. Tragic.

Leave me a comment and tell me where you’re from and what’s happening there. I genuinely enjoy seeing where everyone calls home, and I always learn something new from your stories.

Stay safe, stay cool if you can, and if you’re one of my Oklahoma neighbors... here’s hoping we all dry out just a little before we start growing gills.

Until next time,

Peggy