Summer Prepps

[K9medic2]

Every year we all consider how we will prep for the coming winter, extra kit in the car in case we get stuck in snow, extra food and candles in the house ect. But how many of us put the same amount of thought into prepping for the summer? Yes, we swap the car kit to lighter weight cloths, if we have a garden plan which crops go where and when, but do we have a plan for the summer trying to trip us up?

I will be honest and say, apart from chucking a bottle of factor 5000 sun cream in my bag and telling the kids to wear a hat, its not something I have given much thought to.

The local news is reporting two teenagers got into trouble swimming in the river yesterday, they still have not been found, sadly I do not think there is much hope now.

The weather is hot and humid, at the moment, add in pollen season and there are a lot of people having respiratory problems.

Of, course next Monday is a Bank Holiday, so traditionally this means thunderstorms. The ground is still waterlogged so flooding is a distinct possibility.

Solar activity + local weather conditions mean power and internet are all at risk. Given that the village I live in relies on the internet connection for our telephones, if we lose power, we have about two hours before we lose all telephone services including mobiles.

So far, I have started by talking about thermal shock with my three kids, we live near the beach, and they are of an age where they go off with their friends. Yes, they are all strong swimmers, but hot body hitting cold water can easily drive you into shock.

Next step is check my better half's inhalers (she is terrible at letting them go empty before ordering a new one).

So, what plans do we have for Summer?

I've ordered six bottles of Pimms and filled the IBC with 1000L of water for the garden. Veg and salads are all planted and coming on well despite a raid by the naughty deer getting the rhubarb and baby peas. DH has added more sticks to his crap homemade fence to further protect the veg.

The squrriel population will continue to be reduced.

I have improved cooling at home. We have a south-facing house, and it gets really hot. I've planted tall plants in pots that I'll be moving in front of the conservatory for shade, and I've put up light curtains to keep the sun out.
I've got extra water butts for watering, which are now all full.
We now have fans for all the rooms.

We have 3 fans, one per bedroom for overnight and we bring the largest downstairs in the morning for use in the living room during the day, we also keep cooling packs in the fridge and freezer.
Storms are more common in the months from June, Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1st and the UK often sees the tail end of these, resulting in heavy rain and strong winds, we have power cut supplies, cable ties and bricks to weigh down garden stuff, padlocks for sheds and gates, metal sheeting for windows in case debis causes damage although these are only used in red warnings for wind.
Both kids have hats, suncream in their school bags and we have spares at home. We have electrolyte powders to add to drinks for both kids and adults in case someone gets heat stroke or dehydrated.
Cool boxes used to protect sensitive medication such as Epipens and insulin from the heat.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head

@K9medic2 the river tragedy is just beyond awful. It's an area that I used to play in as a kid (my sister used to live in Ovingham)

It's a stark reminder to all of us, and a wake up call to make sure our kids are prepared and armed with as much knowledge as possible. I had my own near miss as a 10 year old after literally skating on thin ice and falling in. Thankfully a friend was at hand and pulled me out. I was such a sensible kid, too. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess kids get excited by hot, sunny weather / snow and ice respectively.

I'm stocking up on bottled water, as my old stuff was out of date. (It's been put in the garage for other uses) I've checked that the two fans still work, and I'm having some new raised beds built for veg and herbs. I've got extra cool packs in the fridge and freezer as we pop these in our pillowcases on hot nights. Obviously, also handy for injuries and inflammation (which is something I suffer with a lot as I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome)

Looking forward to the winter, I've thrown out old hot water bottles (check dates on neck) as someone on here had a nasty accident recently. Got two new ones.

I've had the gutters cleared and cleaned, so they are now free flowing allowing for summer storms and again, looking ahead to autumn and winter.

Other than that, I'm currently dealing with rats. Next door were putting out tons of mealworm for the birds, and we now have an issue with the fact that they've buried under the foundations and made their way into our homes. We've found the rat runs and filled them in. I'm also looking at wire for the gutters / under the eaves.

Veg planted and growing.

Air conditioner bought (south facing apartment now).

2 summer weight jackets bought for work (much warmer city than I am used to).

I plan to get a proper solar generator/power bank in the next couple of weeks.

Sorry had to jump off metro.

I had already rebuilt my general food supplies with food that's easy to eat without cooking. The solar generator will be to run a single plate induction ring for emergency cooking (and normal recharging devices etc), as I am not allowed any naked flames/gas canisters in the apartment.

I always have a few spare bottles of sparkling water but need more flat water. And UHT shelf-stable milk is the main option here so I have a couple of bottles I cycle through when I cannot get fresh milk (and that's pretty frequent!).

I have bought door stops so I can keep internal doors open and not slamming when I open windows - and the way the apartment faces is pretty good if the wind is not too strong outdoors (I'm 11 floors up so wind speed, it matters!). And I have curtains on all except 1 window so I can keep them closed in daytime and open later to let whatever heat has got in - back out.

Cool box would be more sensible than putting meds under the stairs (coolest place in house)

I've stocked up on ice lollies. Don't want a repeat of the summer when Tesco's had been cleared out before I could get any. 😎

I have old sheets to hang behind the curtains to block out more heat.

Just replaced the fan that was yeeted round the flat . (It got knocked over so someone decided to break it more)

Teen boy doing GCSEs so stocking up ice lollies does not work. I keep buying ice creams. They keep getting eaten!

lol very true