Most summer gardens are in full swing by early July; the plants are growing like crazy and the harvest is finally coming in. The days are wonderful…. and hot. While summer vegetable crops do love heat, there is only so much they can take. Understanding how heat affects you and your crops will make gardening […]
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A storm surge consists of the most dangerous flooding a hurricane can cause.
Hurricane season has once again come to call, with people throughout the coastal states checking the National Hurricane Center’s website to know about the latest potential or next upcoming threat. Those threats are real too, with people losing their lives and billions of dollars per year of damage to homes and property.
That damage comes from the two elements of a hurricane that make it dangerous: wind and water. More specifically, a lot of the damage comes from flooding caused by the massive amounts of rainwater falling from the hurricanes.
It seems that large quantities of people fall victim to the flooding caused by hurricanes every year, with most acting as if such a thing were unheard of. Yet such flooding goes hand in hand with hurricanes; so much so that hurricane preparedness should really be more about preparing for a flood than anything else.
Contrary to popular misconceptions, most flooding is not extremely deep. There are things that can cause deep flooding, most especially flash flooding. In the case of a hurricane, the truly deep flooding comes from storm surge, with a record high of 27.8 feet in Pass Christian, MS, during Hurricane Katrina.
What is storm surge? It’s a rising of the sea level as a result of atmospheric pressure change and high winds. That’s the most dangerous flooding a hurricane can cause. But it’s not the most common flooding that most people are likely to encounter. The amount of land which is below 28 feet above sea level is so miniscule that chances of falling victim to storm surge are very low.
I have a friend that lives essentially across the street from the Gulf of Mexico. Even though they are within 100 yards of the water, they are 33 feet above sea level. So, if some future hurricane brought a Katrina-esque storm surge to their shore, they would still be safe.
On the other hand, thousands of households were flooded when Hurricane Harvey got stalled over Houston. The storm dumped 60 inches of rain accumulation over the city and shattered previous storm records. At 49 feet above mean sea level, they were safe from any risk of a Katrina-type storm surge. Nevertheless, they were not safe from the risk of the storm stalling over their city and inundating them with that much rain.
Sixty inches is five feet. Considering that the standard ceiling height in homes is eight feet, that didn’t even fill the first floors of homes. Granted, it was still too much to stay in those rooms, but it wasn’t enough that homes were totally covered with water or washed away by the water.
There is a burning question that faces all of us who live in the coastal states. What are we going to do if we are suddenly the target of such a hurricane with its accompanying flooding?
Hindsight is 20/20 they say and that’s surely true in this case. Looking back at the results of Hurricane Harvey, it’s clear that anyone living in the southeast Houston area would have been better off bugging out, prepper or not.
That’s a much harder call to make before the fact though. The last time that Houston’s city officials called for a general evacuation, there was a 100 mile long traffic jam which lasted over 24 hours. People died in their vehicles simply sitting in the heat that day. With that sort of history, it’s not surprising that officials were reluctant to order another mass evacuation.
The reality is that such orders are merely a best guess, just like they are for you and me. How many of us, had we been living in the Houston area, would have looked at the pending storm and decided to ride it out just like the people of Houston did?
Of course, once the flooding hits, bugging out in a car, truck, or even a 4×4 is doubtful. While there were some rescues accomplished with 4×4 trucks in Houston, that is very risky. Since you can’t see what is under the water, you never know if there is a hole that has opened up, which the truck could fall right into.
Unless you manage to leave really early, which really constitutes a bug out rather than a self-rescue, the only way you can do so effectively is with a boat. But since few people have boats, there are few who are even ready to perform a self-rescue. Instead, they need rescuers to come get them.
It really doesn’t take all that much to execute a self-rescue though. While it might be nice to have a houseboat or even a nice fishing boat, the reality is that you can perform a self-rescue with anything that floats. That includes a raft you make by stringing empty milk jugs together. Even so, an inflatable boat might be the best compromise of work versus cost.
Most people aren’t equipped to self-rescue and don’t end up bugging out early. That leaves them awaiting someone else rescuing them. Nonetheless, don’t expect that “someone else” to be the government. Few government agencies have the necessary assets to accomplish an effective rescue as the boats that would be used have to be boats that government agencies have for other purposes, like fish and game. I know of no government agency which has boats available to rescue people from flooding.
In the case of Hurricane Harvey, it was the Cajun Navy from Louisiana who came to the rescue, towing swamp boats and other shallow water fishing boats behind their trucks. Had it not been for the help of these citizens, many of the people could not have been rescued.
Even so, this group has been denied permission by government officials to go into other areas and rescue people. When they went to help in Pender County, North Carolina, they were turned away by the Emergency Operations Center. Only three boats were officially allowed to stay, although many more did so on a vigilante basis.
If you don’t have any other option, then you’re going to have to await rescue. Still, that’s not all that secure an option to count on. With government officials able to deny the help of groups like the Cajun Navy, who only want to help, there’s no saying what sort of aid you’ll have available to you.
With that in mind, you might find yourself stuck in a situation where you need to shelter in place. Now, that may sound impossible, but it really isn’t, as long as you have at least one floor, including the attic, which is above the water level. I’ve known people who have ridden out heavy flooding just by moving to the upper floor of their home.
Granted, American-made homes really aren’t designed to withstand such abuse. But the fact of the matter is that most of the damage caused by flooding, while expensive, is superficial. It’s the drywall, carpeting, and other finish items which are destroyed by the floodwaters, not the structural integrity of the home.
Even so, preparing to shelter in place is an important part of survival and that includes preparing to shelter in place through flooding. What do I mean by that? More than anything, I mean being ready to camp out on the second floor of your home or in the attic. That includes having the necessary equipment and supplies stored in those areas so that you can live without having to go swimming downstairs while looking for the things you missed.
Here are a few of the things you need to consider:
Even if you do decide to shelter in place, you want to have a backup plan for rescue. Floodwaters might rise higher than you expect, making your second story or attic no longer tenable. In that case, you will probably need to move onto the roof so that rescuers can get to you.
This is an important point to consider. How are you going to get onto the roof? Most homes don’t have access from the second floor to the roof unless you have a balcony and are pretty good at climbing. It’s even harder to find a home that has access from the attic to the roof unless it has dormers. Adding such access in, even if it causes a few eyebrows to rise, is a good idea if you live in a potential hurricane zone.
You may also enjoy reading an additional Off The Grid News article: Surviving Extreme Heat Without Air Conditioning
What are your thoughts on surviving hurricanes, floods, and summer storm surges? Let us know in the comments below.
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I’m sharing my story here so you don’t make the same mistake I did, and end up with Phytophotodermatitis (PPD). Phytophotodermatitis is also known as plant and sun dermatitis, parsnip burn, and sometimes lime disease (not to be confused with Lyme disease) or margarita photodermatitis. You get it from exposure to plant sap or juice and sunlight, […]
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When living off grid, fishing can ensure your ability to survive.
Pitching camp near a body of water is one of the best ways to ensure your capacity to survive. Water is necessary for the sustenance of life. Where there is water, there is the opportunity to snag supper on a reliably regular basis.
With that said, the key to surviving isn’t simply based on the gear you bring. Instead, it’s primarily based in how well you can manage and leverage your time and energy in every task undertaken.
And I believe that fishing is an ideal way to accomplish this.
Pitching camp near a lake, mountain stream, or a large river can completely change the game in your favor. In modern terms, it’s a survivalist’s lifehack, but one that predates antiquity.
In human history, it’s easy to see that access to bodies of water means everything. Empires have risen and fallen based on their proximity to a coastline or river, which is one reason why there was such a need for a dominant navy during military conflicts. There are several reasons why this was the case, as a large body of water offered:
That’s why some of the world’s most wealthy and largest major cities continue to depend on some body of water for development and stability. Even Las Vegas, Nevada, is dependent on the Colorado River’s Hoover Dam to power ye olde giant desert oasis of decadence. To take that point even further, the Population Reference Bureau states that:
Today, approximately 3 billion people — about half of the world’s population — live within 200 kilometers of a coastline. By 2025, that figure is likely to double. The high concentration of people in coastal regions has produced many economic benefits, including improved transportation links, industrial and urban development, revenue from tourism, and food production.
But let’s bring this back to lil’ old you and me, now. The reason why I talked about why humans tend to concentrate near (and even fight over) bodies of water is because they offer the means for a civilization to thrive and prosper. In light of that fact, I believe that there are convincing correlations in how humanity’s macro schemes translate to our own personal micro-survival situations.
And that brings me to the takeaway …
Be sure to pack a survival fishing kit when going off grid.
If you’re surviving, selecting a “bugout” retreat, or savoring the art of bushcraft on a week-long campout, then here’s what you should do: set your tent stakes somewhere near a fish-filled body of water.
Fishing is simply a massive advantageous survivalist’s lifehack, because instead of hunting, it allows you to relax and watch a bobber — so that you can expend less energy, use your time wisely, and sleep the night without feeling your gut gurgling. I’ve come to realize that this is a super-powerful wilderness provision for three reasons:
As I stated above, water will offer you a bounty of resources. You’re going to have to find a water source regardless of whether or not you’ve pitched camp on a mountain, in the desert, or in a backwoods holler. Water is absolutely essential for life, and because survival is dependent on our ability to leverage and manage our time, you might as well kill two birds with one stone.
You’ll have two extremely critical resources in a single location. This means that you’ll spend less time and energy on acquiring both of them.
By the way, it’s no secret that critters have a tendency to congregate and travel near water sources. Since you’ll be near the water anyway, this even offers you an added advantage for hunting and trapping as well. Food for thought … literally.
One of the biggest reasons why I wouldn’t depend on hunting alone is because of its striking similarities with gambling. Sometimes you get lucky, and sometimes you don’t. When it comes to my survival, I don’t like those odds.
Also, you’ll be spending your energy and time in an attempt to take a buck, so that you can eat for a week. But what if you’re in the height of summer without the means to preserve the venison that you’ve just taken? Sure, you can jerk all of it simultaneously, but that’s another major time/energy demand. During warmer months, it’s just easier to take small game for that reason.
Also, when you’re hunting, you’re only hunting. You can’t do other things simultaneously. This is why you’ll need to be trapping WHILE you’re hunting in order to keep the food provisions topped off.
But if you’re depending on fishing, you can cast multiple lines simultaneously, using bait that you dug up five minutes ago. In addition, fishing requires far less knowledge, time, skill and energy in order to successfully reel in and process a meal for supper — in comparison to attempting to shoot and gut it.
Now here’s the kicker…
And all you did was cast a line without tracking, smoke bathing, aiming, and telling everyone about your present location via .30-06 discharge. You got more for doing less.
Even so, you could still hunt while you trap and fish. Fishing for survival purposes doesn’t require your lines to be constantly tended.
In the spirit of our newfound uses for survival leverage, let’s ask a simple question:
Just because you catch a small fish, does that mean you have to eat it? Well, if you’re about to succumb to starvation, then perhaps eating would be the best course of action at the moment. But if you’re not going to pass out within the next 10 hours, then what else could we do with our tiny snack? Simple: we use it to hook a bigger meal on the line.
Nothing gets big fish hungrier than the familiar scent of a wounded smaller fish — but it’s not exactly wounded in reality. Nope, instead of eating that smaller fish, you cut it into pieces and set them on the hooks that are attached to your trotline … using your three-inch morning’s Crappie catch to drag in the evening’s 12-inch catfish.
The coolest part is that you didn’t have to spend any time watching that trotline, and just let nature do its thing. And even though trotlines can be difficult to run, especially if you don’t have access to watercraft, then you can still employ your other set-and-forget option if you purchased Fishing Yo Yos and stashed them in your pack ahead of time. Here’s a video that will show you what these contraptions can do:
This way, you can collect a tiny unappetizing, yet edible, resource, like a worm…
To catch a smaller tasty, edible resource, like a bluegill…
To snag a multi-meal, scrumptiously edible resource, like a catfish or largemouth.
And you did it without using a single round. You also didn’t spend all day, praying to stumble upon a rabbit or a doe. All because you used leverage.
So be “shore” about your survival: Camp near a river and bring your fishing kit.
Do you agree? Is fishing the best method for survival if you need meat? Share your comments in the section below:
Could You ‘Live Off The Land’ With Your Gun? Read More Here.
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I still remember the first time I tried growing cantaloupe. I selected a dwarf type because of the shorter maturation period and my compact growing space. Since I was eager to try my hand at some kind of fruit, melon seemed like a fun choice. That summer, I managed to grow a single melon. I was so excited to nurture it and even more excited to eventually pick and eat it, but my plans were thwarted by a very rude squirrel.
The day I had planned to pick it, I grabbed my cantaloupe from its resting place and started to bring it into the kitchen to slice up but low and behold, the melon had been massacred. I knew who had done it and I screamed into the sky at the squirrels I knew were watching.
I believe that that melon would have been delicious. The fragrance emanating from the exposed flesh was intoxicating. Intensely fruity, almost so much so that it smelled like a perfume. After that summer, I stopped growing a few crops that seemed to attract the squirrels, but I think about that lonely melon a lot because a home-grown melon is truly something else.
If you’re lucky and live in the right climate with long, warm summers, growing cantaloupe shouldn’t be too tricky. Still, this crop may pose a challenge even for intermediate gardeners. Here's what you need to know to be successful.
These plants are sun lovers, so be sure to pick a well-lit spot in full sun to grow them.
Soil should be neutral or slightly acidic, with a pH between 6.0-7.0, and it’s better if it’s on the sandy side. Add compost to your planting hole before transplanting or seeding cantaloupe.
This type of melon is typically grown in mounds or hills. Why? This method of planting prevents water from pooling in one location and rotting the roots of the plant. The mounds also help retain heat, which melons love.
Cantaloupe will grow in zones 4-11, with a bit of extra care and attention required in colder zones, since fruit flavor depends mostly on watering and warm temperatures.
In warmer zones, cantaloupe seeds can be direct sown in the early spring, but if you’re in a colder climate, you’ll want to start them indoors prior to transplanting to give the plants a head start. Melons are similar to squash and should go out well after the last frost date. Start them about a month before you plan to put them out in the garden. Any exposure to frost will likely decimate your melon crop, so don’t transplant until all risk has passed.
If direct-seeding, ensure the soil is warm enough to encourage germination. Planting in cool soil may lead to poor germination. Plant seeds about 1/2 inch deep.
Allow transplants 7-10 days to harden off before putting them in the garden.
Space your mounds to give your plants enough room to spread and grow. Keep plants about 3 feet apart. Cantaloupes are vining plants and need room to spread, but they can also be grown vertically to save on ground room.
It’s also possible to succeed at growing cantaloupe in containers. Vines will sprawl out, though, so opt for a trellis or support structure to keep everything tidy and contained.
Here are a few tips for caring for your cantaloupe crops:
Water regularly until you start to notice flowers turning into melons. Cantaloupes need plenty of water to set fruit. Once you see actual melons beginning to grow, cut back on watering. Water too much while your melons grow and you’ll likely get bland-tasting fruit.
Black plastic mulch keeps weeds from growing and gives the melons extra heat.
These plants love the heat and need a lot of it to grow into tasty melons. Use black plastic mulch to conserve heat and moisture. Plastic mulch is also ideal if you’re allowing your plants to sprawl on the ground since the plastic will keep the fruit from touching the earth and potentially contracting a disease.
Provide a balanced fertilizer once your plants start sending out vines.
This wilting disease will eventually kill off your cantaloupe plants. Prevent it by keeping pests like cucumber beetles away from your plants since they transmit this disease.
This disease is caused by a virus that is transmitted by whitefly. You'll notice mottling leaves that eventually curl and become brittle. Keep whitefly away to avoid this disease.
This disease shows up as mottling on the leaves and stunted growth. There's no cure, and it is spread by infected tools or in seed, so be sure to clean your equipment between use. Use only certified clean seed.
This fungus causes lesions on roots and stems, along with yellowing of runners. Use fungicide and plant in well-drained soils.
Powdery mildew stunts plant growth and causes white powdery growth on plant leaves and stems. Sanitize your equipment between use and make sure plants have plenty of air circulation.
Mature plants develop necrotic spots, discoloration and will eventually collapse if they contract this disease. It likes cool temps so plant when the days have warmed up a bit.
This disease causes foliage to turn yellow and become stunted and distorted. It's transmitted by leafhoppers, so use row covers and keep weeds away to prevent them from attacking plants.
Bacterial wilt will cause leaves and stems to turn dark green and then wilt. It's spread by bugs, so keep them away.
Anthracnose causes pink spores to form on cantaloupe leaves. Rotate your crops and use disease-free seed.
Charcoal rot causes yellow leaves and an oozing, gummy substance at the stem. It's caused by a fungus. Rotate crops and keep plants well watered.
Aphids are nasty, sap-sucking insects that are tiny and not noticeable until there’s an infestation. Keep an eye on the undersides of your melon leaves for these annoying insect pests. Spray with homemade insecticide or neem oil.
Besides cabbage moths and caterpillars, squash vine borers are my number one garden nemesis. They bore into vines and eventually kill your healthy plants by eating them from the inside. It’s a real horror show. Keep close watch of your plants to spot eggs on undersides of leaves. Quickly dispose of infected plants to prevent the spread of this pest.
These striped beetles target plants in the cucurbit family, including melons. They munch on foliage and can spread disease. Thankfully, they’re relatively easy to spot because of their coloring. Unless you’re experiencing a heavy infestation, they should be easy to pick off and squish or drown in a bucket of soapy water.
Cabbage loopers chew holes in leaves and can decimate a plant. You'll recognize the caterpillar by its inching motion. Hand pick them from plants or use a good insecticide.
Cutworms gnaw through growing cantaloupe plants at the base by the soil. Keep the ground around plants clear, use collars to protect plants, and spread diatomaceous earth around plants.
Flea beetles chew shot holes through plant leaves and can be so damaging that they can kill plants. Use floating row covers and trap crops, along with a layer of mulch to keep them under control.
Cantaloupe is attacked by several types of root-knot nematodes. Plants wilt in the heat of the day, and you'll see galls on the roots of the plants. Use nematicidal fumigants to control.
Here are a few problems you may encounter while growing cantaloupe.
The leaves on my melon plant look like someone dropped powder all over them, what’s going on?
It sounds like your cantaloupe plant has contracted powdery mildew. It’s a common infection caused by a fungus. It’s not the end of the world, though. Avoid watering from above and remove affected foliage.
There’s no fruit, and it’s well into the summer, what happened?
You may need a bit more patience if your melon variety has a long maturity period. Check your seed packet to verify. Otherwise, you may have a lack of pollinators visiting your garden plants. Try planting pollinator-friendly flowers and vegetation. You may have also planted the melons too close together.
My melons taste bad! Why!?
If your melons don’t taste like much at all, it’s likely the weather that’s to blame. Too much rain will cause cantaloupe to grow into balls of bland-tasting flesh. It could also be that you’ve overwatered your plants while the fruits were growing.
My melons look weird. How come?
It’s probably irregular watering. When plants are young, make sure to water evenly and avoid drought exposure. Later, when fruits have set, water so as not to cause the plants to die, but never overwater.
When planting cantaloupe, consider putting flowering plants nearby to attract pollinators: cantaloupe plants produce both male and female flowers and insects like bees help to pollinate and increase fruit production.
Collard greens: If you’ve historically had issues with aphids, collard greens can lure them away from your melons.
Marigolds: Their strong scent helps repel pests from a number of plants, including melon.
Herbs: Strong smelling herbs like savory, chamomile, tansy, dill, chives, cilantro, and mint will also do the trick to repel certain pests.
Lettuce and other quick-growing shade-tolerant crops: While your melon grows into its own, you can capitalize on the growing area around it and plant shallow rooted low-maintenance plants.
These plants also work well with cantaloupe:
Don’t plant anything that will compete for space too close to your cantaloupe and avoid planting potatoes near cantaloupe plants.
You’ll know it’s time to pick the fruit when the color of the rind changes. Yellowing signals that the plants are ripening. A ripe melon should easily dislodge from its vine. Be gentle when harvesting, piercing the flesh will cause the fruit to spoil quickly.
Picking melons at the correct time is vital since they don’t ripen sitting on the countertop. A freshly picked melon will last about a week sitting out on the counter. It’s best to cut it right before eating since cut melon spoils quicker.
Now it's time to get growing. Let us know how it goes – and if you have any advice for keeping the hungry squirrels away, I'm all ears!
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Surviving Extreme Heat In The Summer Time Can Be An Emergency Situation.
I don’t know how it is where you live, but where I live, it’s over 100 degrees Fahrenheit half the days of the year. We only end up using our home’s furnace a couple of weeks in January and February and then, it’s usually just at night. With that kind of climate when it comes to survival, I’m not as concerned about heating my home as I am cooling it. Considering that we run the air conditioning over 300 days per year, if the grid goes down, we’re in trouble.
Let me just add a little more confusion to the high heat here. My wife’s body really can’t stand the heat. She’s one of those rare people who don’t perspire. So, the natural cooling that you and I experience isn’t available to her. She overheats way too easily. Not exactly the right kind of person to live in the climate where we live.
Nevertheless, we’ve had to figure out how to survive extreme heat without air conditioning. While we have excellent air conditioning systems in our home and cars, we also spend a fair amount of time in Mexico, where we are much less likely to have those luxuries. Even if we were able to take an air conditioner with us, electrical power outages are extremely common south of the border.
The first thing you need to do to keep your cool when you don’t have air conditioning is stay out of the sun. Shade is wonderful. Shade can save you as much as 10 degrees of temperature. If you have to be somewhere that doesn’t have air conditioning, then make sure that you’re not standing in the sun.
Pocket-sized solar generator provides dependable back up power during a crisis
You can do the same thing to help keep buildings cool. If a building is in the shade, it isn’t as likely to get hot as one standing in the sun. So, arrange for your home to be in the shade. If you don’t have a convenient skyscraper to provide you with shade, plant trees. Make sure you put them on the south and west sides of the house, as those are the sides where the sun strikes the strongest. Maybe those trees will take a while to grow, but they’ll eventually shade your house.
When we were living on the road in a motorhome, I built a sun shade the length of the vehicle. It was held off the roof and side of the motorhome and stretched out with fiberglass poles. That kept the sun off of our RV, making it about 15 degrees cooler on the inside.
It Is Important To Keep Your Body Well Hydrated While Surviving Extreme Heat.
Wind is a great help in surviving extreme heat. Even though we live in a hot climate, it’s windy here. That wind makes all the difference. On a day when the wind is blowing, I can count on it being much cooler than on other days. I can also count on the wind helping my perspiration to evaporate faster, providing me with more cooling.
In order for water to evaporate, it has to absorb a lot of heat. If that water is your perspiration, the water draws that heat out of your body. If you don’t have any perspiration, you can spray yourself with water from a spray bottle, providing water to evaporate and cool you.
You can receive a lot of cooling from evaporation, especially if you have some wind to go with it. A simple evaporative cooler can be made by hanging burlap over an open window or doorway. As the air passes through the burlap, it will cause the water in the burlap to evaporate, drawing the heat out of the air passing through. This can lower the temperature of the air passing through the window or doorway by 10 to 15 degrees.
For this to work, you will need to keep a fresh supply of water to the burlap. That can either be done with a pump or by spraying water on the burlap from time to time. Regardless of how you do it, make sure that burlap stays wet.
I’ve already mentioned how perspiration provides evaporative cooling for your body and how you can spray yourself with water to help overcome any problem with lack of sweating. However, there’s another way to use evaporative cooling on your body; that’s with a “Cool Collar.”
I don’t know if you can buy these anymore, but they’re not hard to make. A cool collar consists of a fabric tube about one and a half inches in diameter and 28 inches long. Before closing the tube, put a tablespoon of the kind of moisture retainer gel in it that you can buy in home and garden centers. You will need to block off both ends of the tube from the crystals by sewing, leaving all the crystals in the center part.
Once the cool collar is made and the end is sealed, soak it in water. The crystals will absorb water, making the collar swell up to the point that it looks like it is going to burst. Don’t worry, it won’t.
Place the cool collar around your neck, tying the ends together. The crystals inside will gradually release the water, allowing it to evaporate and cool. Being at your neck means that the collars are located at the point of greatest blood flow. As the water evaporates from the collars, the collars will cool, drawing heat out from your body.
The same idea as this collar can be expanded and turned into a vest. Some highway workers use these vests to keep cooler while they are working. The larger surface area of the vest provides more cooling than the collars does.
If you have any way of getting underground, it’s going to be cooler. This could include going down in your basement, getting in the root cellar (if you have one) or going into a conveniently located cave. This is so effective, that if you have a cave on your property, you might want to consider turning it into a hot weather survival shelter.
If you decide to build a root cellar at some time, as part of your survival strategy, then be sure to make it big enough that you can use it for an emergency shelter from the heat. That will provide you with about the best natural cooling you can find.
When I was in the Yucatan peninsula a few years ago, I discovered the Mexican “cenotes.” These are underground caves with lakes in them. They may only be a few feet under the ground (10 to 20), but the temperature inside the caves is about 20 degrees cooler. The water was chilly enough that after a while you would actually have to get out and warm up; and this was on days where it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface.
Speaking of the cenotes, never forget every child’s emergency summertime cool-off method; getting in the water. No matter how hot it is, the water will always be cooler. Going for a swim, running through the sprinklers or having a water fight are all great summertime ways of cooling off. Don’t tell me you are too old for that; if you are still breathing, you’re not too old.
The water which comes to our homes comes through underground pipes; that makes it cooler than the air temperature. Just getting wet with that water will help to cool you off and then as the water evaporates, it will cool you even more.
What off-grid summertime survival tips do you have? How do you survive the summer heat? Tell us in the comments section below.
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