So it finally happened. Not that I didn’t know it was coming. It is April after all. Still, it was quite a shock to the system to finally reach triple digits after months of cold. Months of cold. Brr.

The shock wasn’t that I was sucking down fluids at a rate that would do a filter feeder proud. That’s normal until I adjust to the dry, hot air. No the shock was that I actually have a normal body temperature. Okay, truly it’s not quite normal being only 98.3 but that’s almost 2 degrees above my cold weather temperature. That must explain all the energy and all that I was able to scratch off on my todo list

Sometimes it sucks being a cold-blooded mammal

But that’s not the point of this blog. So what is

Every spring my active cycle shifts. Aside from the large intake of fluids and the migratory pattern of the shower handle from hot to cool, my morning productivity increases dramatically.

Yes, I am a morning person. I love mornings. I love the sunrise so full of promise. As summer approaches, I’m actually out walking the dog when the sun is up, making vitamin D. But with the triple digits there are more folks out in the morning, when it’s cool–cool being relative as in July and August that would be in the low 90s. Still, smart people start moving their active times earlier and earlier. Somehow I’m sure it’s tied with our primitive brains that the rising of the sun signals an opportunity to hunt/farm/gather and not just a heat factor. Of course, my children who consider rising anytime before noon to be obscene if not cruel and unusual punishment

Then again, anyone who’s lived in the Valley of the Sun for more than one summer would rather be out when the brain can convince the body that it is cooler than it would be at another time. Hence the early risers.Those who lack the morning gene can claim that they are already adapted to summer heat by virtue of the fact that they only go out when the sun has set (the light, it burns!). The nocturnal set is delusional as it is still over 100 degrees until midnight. Of course, many stores stay open until 9PM, enabling them to continue their beliefs. Whereas I have to wait until 7AM for the stores to open. Ah well, there are those stores that open at 6. And I can always find things to do to fill the 3-4 hours while I wait

And better still, with so many sleeping in, I still get the quiet and avoid most of the crowds. Alas, the need to move and be active is not conducive to writing–which usually involves a butt in a chair. Guess that’s why the afternoons are so hot.