Corn sweat and thunder

 

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image--Lars Ploughmann  / Wikimedia Commons

 

What is corn sweat? Corn sweat is another name for transpiration--the evaporation of moisture from growing corn plants. In fact, all growing plants do this, but corn is especially good at it. 

 

According to meteorologists,  corn fields can release 3000-4000 gallons of water per acre per day.

 Iowa,  Illinois, and Indiana are the big corn growing states---fields of dreams, heat and humidity, and summer storms. 

 

Tuesday, August 27, the Chicago area experienced the hottest day of the year, and the highest humidity of the year.  O'Hare Airport reported a high temperature of 99 degrees, and a real feel temperature (heat and humidity) of 110!

 

The sky got dark with  menacing storm clouds. There was thunder and lightning--bolts struck the Hancock and the Sears Tower. The sky lit up with lightning from distant storms across the Lake. And the rain was intense.  

A real summer storm for the ending days of August! 

 

 

 

 

 

A Lazy Day in August

cool breeze
picked fresh from the vine
ripe tomatoes

ripening tomatoes

 

There are days in August, ripe as tomatoes, peppers and zucchini.  The weather is just about perfect---sun and 70's and almost no humidity.  

The gardens are what they are,  browning grass and maybe a little weedy and overgrown.  The major yard work projects can wait until the cooler days of fall.  

Time for opening windows, hanging laundry in the breeze. 

Time for hoodies in the evening,  or walking in the mornings.

Time for  sitting back, watching the Perseid meteors that will peak on August 11.  You can find out more about the Perseids from EarthSky here.

 Enjoy  those last-minute summer things.  dog-day cicadas, the last of the day lilies.  bare feet on warm wood floors. 

In a couple of weeks schools will start again. The Bud Biliken Parade  held on August 10 this year is a back-to-school tradition in Chicago.

And the Democratic Convention will be in Chicago from August 19-22!