Swiftly move the seasons

California is one fast-paced kind of state when it comes to our weather, you know? A couple weeks ago, I was shivering around here at night wearing two layers to bed and big thick socks and resisting the urge to creep down the hall and nudge up the heater.

Storms from Alaska had us back down into the 30s and even (on one notable evening – notable because an awful lot of us gardening-types had already started direct-sowing and transplanting) high 20s.

Ouch.

Fast forward to tonight, when I was throwing open our bedroom and bathroom windows and setting small fans under them to encourage the cooler outside air to flow in. Because gah, it was hot and stuffy and sweaty and some junk in here! Seriously!

Soon, I’ll be whining about how unrelentingly hot it is, how hard it is to sleep with all this blasted heat.

I actually do prefer the winter on that front. I find it much easier to get to sleep when I’m “too cold” than when I’m “too hot.” You can always throw on another layer of clothes or another blanket…but there comes a point where there’s just nothing else you can take off and if you’re still sweatin’ and sufferin’, wellllllllll…there you are.

Kind of out of luck.

But it’s very good news for the tomatoes, which need to get transplanted soon. They’re outgrowing their little peat cups and starting to swoon a bit – they need more room to grow, more nutrients from the soil, and some lovin’ from the good old sun.

…before it becomes a burning tyrant of unrelenting scorching heat and nighttime temperatures that feel like high noon, and not a drop of water to be found anywhere other than the end of a city-supplied hose…