We walk several miles a day, for our health. John Bailey, The Old Grey Poet, who kept an online journal for many years at the turn of the century, called this type of walk a “medicine walk”.
Most of the year we sleep until we awake, enjoy our morning routines, and walk a mile before breakfast. When we return from our walk I prepare breakfast. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day.
Our summer has been very hot, and very humid. Through all of July the thermometer outside the kitchen window has read over 35C, and with the humidity it affects the human body as if it were in the 40C range. I am adversely affected by heat,. Luckily I can stay indoors where it is cool through the heat of the day. I love the air source heat pump.
This extreme weather affects our walking routine. Walking outdoors is impossible for me in the kind of heat we are experiencing this summer.
Our solution is to rise very early, to go out walking before the sun rises above the horizon. That is the goal. However, the reality is we sleep a little too late some mornings, so that the sun has already started to heat things up. It makes for a really uncomfortable walk, and so far I am managing it without incident.
The early morning walks lead to another issue. Since we go out so early, it is not time for breakfast when we return home. My routine of walking before breakfast, and having breakfast when I return from my walk, has been temporarily disrupted. My body does not approve, I find my stomach rumbling until it is time for breakfast.
While intermittent fasting, many people enjoy unsweetened black coffee or tea outside their eating window. The general consensus is that the coffee or tea do not break the fast.
Yesterday I decided to try a cup of back coffee after returning from our walk. I don’t like black coffee, preferring mine sweetened and with 1% milk. My stomach however, needed something, and plain water was not alleviating the hunger pangs. So I made myself a cup of black coffee, added a few drops of liquid stevia. It wasn’t too bad. I think the level of hunger I was experiencing, not having eaten in 15 or so hours, enhanced the experience of drinking black coffee.
I tried it again this morning. Yes, I think this is a viable solution to the hot weather change in our routines. I will be developing this new habit.
Worldly
Weather
HEAT WARNING
27°C
Date: 9:00 AM EDT Tuesday 29 July 2025
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 101.7 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 25.9°C
Dew point: 19.5°C
Humidity: 68%
Wind: NNW 12 km/h
Humidex: 34
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed.”
Herman Melville
1819 – 1891
We are quite the species!
Where we shop for groceries there is a homeless young man living in the parking lot with his shopping cart. In this heat he sits in the shade outside the grocery store. A few days ago he wore only a pair of shorts. Yesterday he wore a woman’s flowered cotton dress, and had a hat. He may be dangerous, he may not be dangerous, one cannot assume either. He may be unwell, he may be well, one cannot assume either. I know nothing about him other than he lives in the parking lot, and survives.
How are we come to this, where one of ours is living in this way?
Has our collective culture always been this heartless, that this life path exists? Perhaps.
Do I have a solution? I do not. The best I can do is admit that I do not understand, that I would like to, but that I do not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM60Ix0Owhg
Nice! Thanks for the link SP!
I’m wondering if the young man’s literal dress has more to do with letting things air out in the extreme heat while still being covered as required by law.
I hope things cool down for you soon. Our forecast for the next week is running between 25 and 26, with a single 28 in the middle. Then again, Environment Canada was vastly wrong in their prediction for today. They expected 29 and we’re holding at 24.
They’ve been wrong for us a lot this week. I”m finding accuweather.com more trustworthy, and they’re calling for mid-20s or lower through August, for us.
Teri, the dress on the homeless young man may well be a choice of practicality. I do not envy his living circumstances!
Wow, your summer is completely different than ours. I would love the temperatures you describe, and we do have them for a few hours around 5 a.m. Our weather reporting has been mostly accurate, except that we do not get the rain they predict for the area, it passes to the north of us, it passes to the south of us, but it does not rain here! I will have a look at the accuweather.com!
I remember John Bailey. He was such a faithful journalist. Can it really be it was that long ago? Wow!
Joan, it has been quite a while since John Bailey was actively publishing his online journal. He was very positive and encouraging to other writers, which I appreciated a great deal. It was the beginning of journaling, before the term blogs was coined, and before things like wordpress and commercially owned venues were invented.
Maggie, do you know if the walking helped lower cholesterol? That hope is why I’ve been back at it since early June. Same as you — out early before the heat.
I would love to know what John did after he stopped blogging. He was supportive and appreciative and he is missed.
Kate, I don’t think the walking helped my cholesterol at all, my high levels are hereditary and only slightly related to lifestyle. I feel that my good eating habits and walks do assist the medications I take in doing their work. I think the walking helps tremendously for non-hereditary cholesterol levels, the walks are well worth the effort, and there are a myriad of other benefits to walking as well.
I am with you Kate, John is missed. It would be wonderful to know about John’s path in life after he stopped blogging, his support was so much appreciated.