The Rooftop

Early this morning, before the mercury climbed into the 90's, I was up on the roof checking the air conditioner.  Yesterday while it was near 103°, our thermostat decided to start flashing "Cool on."  Apparently something in the roof unit was causing it to send a message downstairs.  

As per the Google, we turned off the unit, waited a bit, and then reset it.  It has worked fine ever since.  

However, perhaps cottonwood cotton had blocked the intake screens.  Hence my trip upstairs.  

The view was hazy, smoke from the fires in Arizona and the Johnson fire in the Gila.  The view of the neighbor's new house showed how large their place is.  

Our hypothesis is that leaving the garage door open for Henry (he really likes the warmth in the late afternoon) makes the refrigeration unit overwork.  

At any rate, today we kept the door shut or at least barely ajar if Henry was out in the garage.  With some hope, that has taken care of the problem.  

Back to rooftop ecology, you can see how sterile a roof can be.  Somewhere Tardigrades rest in their bullet-proof estivation/dehydration.  No mosses grow on this shingle.  Most of the trees in the project beyond the east wall of our little neighborhood are sycamores, Plantanus arizonica.  There are probably some ash trees as well, of uncertain variety.  Not shown, off camer to the right behind our entry tower, is our Chinese pistache, which is providing much appreciated shade these days.  

Today (Toozday) will be another scorcher.  I have two items on my calendar:  the dentist for finalizing my new crown and an evening tour at the Botanic Garden.  The latter is the first in almost 2 years.  It may also be the hottest ever.  I've got my new insulated water bottle from the new company, Encantado Tech, just in time to be loaded with ice water for this evening's stroll.

So close to the equinox, the sun won't set until 8:23, which is about when the tour ends.  Temperatures will be in the low 90's dipping only into the upper 80's by closing time.  We may not see any bats and, hopefully, the mosquitos will be kept at bay.  

Photos and details tomorrow.