The Elf Herself writes:
Please don't pity "us poor Elves" here in the hot central valley of California. Yes, we've had temperatures up past 110°F (circa 44.3° C.) but 44.3 here isn't quite the same as it most probably is where most of you probably live. Funny thing about California: there is an approximately 1000-mile coast, with a relatively cold current (The Japanese and Humboldt Currents meet about halfway up the coast: one is icy-cold, the other relatively warm.) Secondly, the mountains are tall, but they aren't topped by glaciers. This past week Yosemite actually also got up to 110°. In short, most of California is either arid or semi-arid. If the water weren't diverted from mountains hundreds of miles north of Los Angeles, that city would qualify as a total desert. In short, our high heat is a DRY heat: rarely getting past about 25 or 30% humidity. Some years ago, the Elves spent a summer in the middle of the U. S.: Ohio, to be exact. It rarely topped 90°, but we thought we were in Purgatory! 90% humidity! Rain most mornings! Actual GREEN grass out in the countryside! What kind of country WAS this! We were very happy to get back to our dry home where the summer was at least bearable. (Our hillsides are green starting in February.) So don't pity us--our heat isn't as hot as your heat probably seems to be.
P. S.: When we were on our first trip to the U. K. we took the little excursion train up Ben Nevi, in June. It snowed.
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