@pmarin@werehatrack You got to watch out for those “Well, Bless your heart!” I can mean a lot of different stuff.
You need to start eating Grits, it is quite Southern! You always add something to them. Me, just butter!
@lordbowen Miss the lack of school busses that make the morning commute pure hell. Multiple busses doing interlocked start/stops in both directions on a two lane road, at apartment buildings where they could pull into the apartment lots to pick up but don’t.
They’re back. Every route out of our development is impacted for the better part of an hour each morning.
Absolutely nothing. In fact our first frost is usually in a few weeks and I’m very much looking forward to the death of the insects. Also as weird as it sounds I’m ready for pants season.
Mine is very personal. There was something that was supposed to take up a lot of my time and attention this summer, and at the last second it got cancelled for no good rerason. It’s rescheduled for early January, which means that my January and February to-do list (of things best done then) has now been trashed.
Otherwise, summer is not a thing I miss, it’s a thing I usually have no reason to look forward to. This year was supposed to be different. I really should have known it would get screwed up. That seems to be a recurring theme for me, when I plan something well in advance.
@macromeh@phendrick Midwest varies but we tend to have electric for AC and gas for heat.
We didn’t get hit too bad with the heat this year and winters have been getting warmer. In the last 10 years. Winter does tend to cost more even with how cheap gas is.
Ectric resistive heat would be more expensive depending on your rates. A heat pump would be ideal for any new construction or mini split
@phendrick@unksol Yeah, when we built this house, we built it to specs that were promoted by the local electric utility (a program called “Super Good Cents”). Extra insulation (beyond code requirements), low-E glass, geothermal heat pump, etc. In addition to the subsidies we got from the utility during construction, it has continued to pay off with pretty low energy bills.
@macromeh@phendrick I would do the same if building new and could afford it. If it was a bare lot and had to put in a well/septic anyway I’d definitely get a quote for a ground loop. Or consider solar.
Although on the solar that’s more because I can still get paid for feeding the grid. And I think I could squeak out a profit.
If your in north Dakota. Or or Minnesota. Michigan UP. I wonder. Considering what it would cost for propane. a ground loop might make sense there too
@phendrick@unksol When we built (in 1997) the total new construction furnace installation was about 50% more for the ground-sourced (geothermal) heat pump vs. the traditional air-sourced one ($12K vs. $8K). But the rebates available from the electrical utility at the time covered most of the difference so it was a no-brainer. We’ve never regretted our choice.
Absolutely nothing! I hate summer! I hate the heat. I hate the bugs. I hate the long days. (I’m a night person). I can’t think of one thing I’ll miss about it.
And…it’s almost time for the Texas State Fair. This year it starts the day before my birthday! Can’t wait!
@Tadlem43 I will admit I’m lucky to work from home since before the pandemic. Basically my entire professional career. And I don’t have a lot of ties. But I wouldn’t want to deal with moving over weather either. Just saying there are cheaper cooler states lol. I guess I’m glad I’m in one… Most of the time.
I will forget by the 26th so I guess happy birthday? Mine was this month too. Granted I generally prefer mine be ignored.
I will miss the long days of sunlight. I hate when it gets dark early. I can already feel the difference in the late afternoon and I’m dreading the time change.
We are getting closer to that time of year when it will be cold all the time and dark most of the time and I will have to wear pants again. “Bah humbug”
@2many2no I mean, you don’t have to wear pants… you can get a patio heater or five or something like that if it’s the temperature. Some of those will also address the darkness aspect. If it’s the neighbors complaining…
@2many2no@iggy71@jsfs Ok… weird tangent time. My grandfather owned a Ford dealership back when it was both cars and tractors. It was in a small town in upstate New York. One stoplight in the whole town. My rebellious mother and her friends, some time in the late 1940’s, stole all the old tires from behind the shop, rolled them into the center of the intersection and lit them on fire. I can’t believe she told me that story when I was a teenager, because now I had a card in my back pocket that I could play at any time I was invincible! My grandfather also owned a racetrack called Satan’s Bowl of Death. Jalopy racing at it’s finest. But that’s another discussion Unless you are one of those fancy people with the Google.
@brainmist sympathies. My mother died this Summer. At 95 though, and was good till the near end so going quickly is what she would have wanted. But yeah difficult Summer.
Nothing. Fuck every last thing about summer except fireflies. Fireflies are based. But come to think of it, I haven’t even seen any this summer, so I guess the global warming is killing off the poor little fireflies.
@Dizavid fireflies actually have a pretty short mating season. Depending on the type they are only flashing for week or two. Ours were fine but also not in a place that had massive heat waves. Im sure those spikes could have disrupted things or cause a mass dieoff.
“The larvae of most species are specialized predators and feed on other larvae, terrestrial snails, and slugs. Some are so specialized that they have grooved mandibles that deliver digestive fluids directly to their prey.”
Not what you think about when you put them in a jar as a kid
@Dizavid Entomologists also say that the firefly larva are among the most sensitive insects when it comes to the presence of any kind of pesticide. Basically, anything can kill them. There are entire large areas of Southeast Texas that have none at all, because any place that ever had pesticide applied is now free of fireflies. The county sprays for mosquitoes in much of the developed area and some that isn’t.
@Dizavid@werehatrack@unksol One summer we were visiting my wife’s family in eastern South Dakota. There was a BBQ and as it got dark, my kids and some of their cousins were running around in a field chasing fireflies - something they had never seen before at home in NW Oregon. Unfortunately they also got to learn about another unfamiliar bug when we had to check them afterwards for ticks (and found a couple).
@Dizavid@macromeh@werehatrack I’ve gotten one or two just mowing but I caught it before it latched. Just a normal thing to check for if your in tall grass. The deer also come through the yard a lot.
I def use deet. It’s kinda a requirement if you’re doing yard work. Keeps most of the ticks off.
In theory antibiotics should knock out Lyme disease but. I still don’t want it
@Dizavid@unksol@werehatrack I’ve lived in NW Oregon for the last 60+ years. I’ve encountered ticks here exactly twice - once I found one on a pet cat and once I had one bite me. And I’ve spent a lot of time in the outdoors - it’s just not a thing around here.
Going to miss anticipating the harvest of our planter garden potatoes and carrots. Potatoes may come out this weekend; the greens are about 80% dried out. Carrots flourished though we lost a couple to bolting.
Summer is anticipation for Autumn and the harvest. We can soon work outside without roasting!
@pakopako Usually we save about 1/3 for next year in a heavy duty garbage bag over the winter. The other 2/3 is dumped in a common area nearby (which we cleared with the HOA). We don’t have a garden, just the planters on the patio. Next year we’ll use the retained soil, and add appropriate potting, garden, succulent/desert/etc soil, and possibly sand, plus humus or compost depending on the plants to refill the pots and planters. Same thing we did this year.
I don’t know the results on potatoes and carrots yet (we are harvesting this Sunday) but the tomatoes and peppers had a record season. My wife just harvested another 20 little peppers today, and at least 30 cherry tomatoes, and there’s more still ripening. One one single tomato plant and one single pepper plant. We’ve probably gotten well over 300 cherry tomatoes and closing on 85-90 peppers.
How about everything except Baseball! Hey I am from the south, We like the Heat!
@mycya4me Speak for yourself. Softly.
@mycya4me @werehatrack only recently became a part-time Southerner. Learned some new definitions.
To “We like the heat” I can only say
“Well, Bless your heart!”
@pmarin @werehatrack You got to watch out for those “Well, Bless your heart!” I can mean a lot of different stuff.
You need to start eating Grits, it is quite Southern! You always add something to them. Me, just butter!
@mycya4me @pmarin @werehatrack In England, “Aw, bless 'em” is generally used for children and idiots trying their best.
@pmarin @werehatrack Also check out the YouTube channel “It’s a Southern Thing” it is very Southern!
Nothing. I’m from the South too, and I look forward to the day Satan’s crotch makes its annual return to Hell.
@stephmehnie hehehe! from a born & bred southerner!
I will miss a litter free yard. Living close to a high school requires almost daily trash pickup during the school year.
@lordbowen Miss the lack of school busses that make the morning commute pure hell. Multiple busses doing interlocked start/stops in both directions on a two lane road, at apartment buildings where they could pull into the apartment lots to pick up but don’t.
They’re back. Every route out of our development is impacted for the better part of an hour each morning.
I will miss still having sunlight before 8:00pm.
@heartny i will miss having sunlight AFTER 6pm. When I could do stuff. But to each their own.
Absolutely nothing. In fact our first frost is usually in a few weeks and I’m very much looking forward to the death of the insects. Also as weird as it sounds I’m ready for pants season.
@kjady here’s hoping you mean “long pants” season
Travel time with the kids. Other than that, good riddance 110 degrees and mosquitos.
@connorbush I have been out west in February and March with a girlfriend
And I know Dad took us when we were younger one spring.
Arches national Park Joshua tree. Red rock. Four corners… I think we did in the summer…
I guess my point is there is cool stuff to do in the southwest. But spring/winter break was a better time to do it in the first place. Now. Ugh…
Mine is very personal. There was something that was supposed to take up a lot of my time and attention this summer, and at the last second it got cancelled for no good rerason. It’s rescheduled for early January, which means that my January and February to-do list (of things best done then) has now been trashed.
Otherwise, summer is not a thing I miss, it’s a thing I usually have no reason to look forward to. This year was supposed to be different. I really should have known it would get screwed up. That seems to be a recurring theme for me, when I plan something well in advance.
I will miss (in a good way) the damned heat and the even more damned high utility bills.
@phendrick Just the opposite here (PNW) - winter brings the higher utility bills. Our only utility is electricity and July’s bill was US$59.
@macromeh @phendrick Midwest varies but we tend to have electric for AC and gas for heat.
We didn’t get hit too bad with the heat this year and winters have been getting warmer. In the last 10 years. Winter does tend to cost more even with how cheap gas is.
Ectric resistive heat would be more expensive depending on your rates. A heat pump would be ideal for any new construction or mini split
@phendrick @unksol Yeah, when we built this house, we built it to specs that were promoted by the local electric utility (a program called “Super Good Cents”). Extra insulation (beyond code requirements), low-E glass, geothermal heat pump, etc. In addition to the subsidies we got from the utility during construction, it has continued to pay off with pretty low energy bills.
@macromeh @phendrick I would do the same if building new and could afford it. If it was a bare lot and had to put in a well/septic anyway I’d definitely get a quote for a ground loop. Or consider solar.
Although on the solar that’s more because I can still get paid for feeding the grid. And I think I could squeak out a profit.
If your in north Dakota. Or or Minnesota. Michigan UP. I wonder. Considering what it would cost for propane. a ground loop might make sense there too
@phendrick @unksol When we built (in 1997) the total new construction furnace installation was about 50% more for the ground-sourced (geothermal) heat pump vs. the traditional air-sourced one ($12K vs. $8K). But the rebates available from the electrical utility at the time covered most of the difference so it was a no-brainer. We’ve never regretted our choice.
@macromeh @phendrick hmm… That seems cheap for 97. Wonder what it would cost when replacing. Guess if the A/C or heater sthits the bed I’ll ask.
Those subsidies have been around for a while but who knows state by state
Nothing
Absolutely nothing! I hate summer! I hate the heat. I hate the bugs. I hate the long days. (I’m a night person). I can’t think of one thing I’ll miss about it.
And…it’s almost time for the Texas State Fair. This year it starts the day before my birthday! Can’t wait!
@Tadlem43 you know considering the things you hate… There are cooler states with less of all those.
The equalizer is how much do you hate winter?
@unksol I don’t hate winter, but I can’t move right now…or I would.
@Tadlem43 I will admit I’m lucky to work from home since before the pandemic. Basically my entire professional career. And I don’t have a lot of ties. But I wouldn’t want to deal with moving over weather either. Just saying there are cheaper cooler states lol. I guess I’m glad I’m in one… Most of the time.
I will forget by the 26th so I guess happy birthday? Mine was this month too. Granted I generally prefer mine be ignored.
/image birthday cake
@unksol Aww…thank you so much!!
And Happy Birthday, to you!!
I will miss the long days of sunlight. I hate when it gets dark early. I can already feel the difference in the late afternoon and I’m dreading the time change.
But I won’t miss the muggy heat, that’s for sure!
the long daylight hours. i miss being able to do yardwork after putting the kid to bed
The heat, the long days, and the no active school zones.
I’ll miss the daylight. Having it be dark out both when I get up AND when work finishes is such a bummer.
The nearly endless evenings on the patio…
We are getting closer to that time of year when it will be cold all the time and dark most of the time and I will have to wear pants again. “Bah humbug”
@2many2no I mean, you don’t have to wear pants… you can get a patio heater or five or something like that if it’s the temperature. Some of those will also address the darkness aspect. If it’s the neighbors complaining…
@2many2no @jsfs I like to burn old tires. The neighbors love that!
/giphy tire fire
@2many2no @iggy71 @jsfs Ok… weird tangent time. My grandfather owned a Ford dealership back when it was both cars and tractors. It was in a small town in upstate New York. One stoplight in the whole town. My rebellious mother and her friends, some time in the late 1940’s, stole all the old tires from behind the shop, rolled them into the center of the intersection and lit them on fire. I can’t believe she told me that story when I was a teenager, because now I had a card in my back pocket that I could play at any time
I was invincible! 
My grandfather also owned a racetrack called Satan’s Bowl of Death. Jalopy racing at it’s finest. But that’s another discussion 
Unless you are one of those fancy people with the Google. 
@2many2no @iggy71 @jsfs
Forty years and ten months ago…
Only the extended daylight. I’m night blind, so shorter days mean I can’t drive after 4 pm or whatever. It sucks.
I will miss the longer daylight.
I will only miss the fresh, ripe, in-season produce that is so plentiful in summer. I hate everything else about it.
@tricityladytn This is the correct answer.
Not having to drive 20mph through a school zone!
The friends I lost along the way.
@brainmist
sympathies. My mother died this Summer. At 95 though, and was good till the near end so going quickly is what she would have wanted. But yeah difficult Summer.
Yup, it’s the daylight.
Oh, I’m ready for it to be over.
I used to love summers, but this near constant 100/100+ degrees lark has ruined it.
Bah… cookouts aren’t season specific
@capnjb “Fetch my grillin’ jacket!”
@djslack Right before that it was “Fetch my grillin’ shovel!”
Time in the pool
Nothing. Fuck every last thing about summer except fireflies. Fireflies are based. But come to think of it, I haven’t even seen any this summer, so I guess the global warming is killing off the poor little fireflies.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@Dizavid fireflies actually have a pretty short mating season. Depending on the type they are only flashing for week or two. Ours were fine but also not in a place that had massive heat waves. Im sure those spikes could have disrupted things or cause a mass dieoff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly
“The larvae of most species are specialized predators and feed on other larvae, terrestrial snails, and slugs. Some are so specialized that they have grooved mandibles that deliver digestive fluids directly to their prey.”
Not what you think about when you put them in a jar as a kid
@Dizavid Entomologists also say that the firefly larva are among the most sensitive insects when it comes to the presence of any kind of pesticide. Basically, anything can kill them. There are entire large areas of Southeast Texas that have none at all, because any place that ever had pesticide applied is now free of fireflies. The county sprays for mosquitoes in much of the developed area and some that isn’t.
@Dizavid @werehatrack @unksol One summer we were visiting my wife’s family in eastern South Dakota. There was a BBQ and as it got dark, my kids and some of their cousins were running around in a field chasing fireflies - something they had never seen before at home in NW Oregon. Unfortunately they also got to learn about another unfamiliar bug when we had to check them afterwards for ticks (and found a couple).
@Dizavid @macromeh @werehatrack I’ve gotten one or two just mowing but I caught it before it latched. Just a normal thing to check for if your in tall grass. The deer also come through the yard a lot.
I def use deet. It’s kinda a requirement if you’re doing yard work. Keeps most of the ticks off.
In theory antibiotics should knock out Lyme disease but. I still don’t want it
@Dizavid @unksol @werehatrack I’ve lived in NW Oregon for the last 60+ years. I’ve encountered ticks here exactly twice - once I found one on a pet cat and once I had one bite me. And I’ve spent a lot of time in the outdoors - it’s just not a thing around here.
Going to miss anticipating the harvest of our planter garden potatoes and carrots. Potatoes may come out this weekend; the greens are about 80% dried out. Carrots flourished though we lost a couple to bolting.
Summer is anticipation for Autumn and the harvest. We can soon work outside without roasting!
@duodec What do you do with the dirt in your planters? Just dump it in the garden and refill next season?
@pakopako Usually we save about 1/3 for next year in a heavy duty garbage bag over the winter. The other 2/3 is dumped in a common area nearby (which we cleared with the HOA). We don’t have a garden, just the planters on the patio. Next year we’ll use the retained soil, and add appropriate potting, garden, succulent/desert/etc soil, and possibly sand, plus humus or compost depending on the plants to refill the pots and planters. Same thing we did this year.
I don’t know the results on potatoes and carrots yet (we are harvesting this Sunday) but the tomatoes and peppers had a record season. My wife just harvested another 20 little peppers today, and at least 30 cherry tomatoes, and there’s more still ripening. One one single tomato plant and one single pepper plant. We’ve probably gotten well over 300 cherry tomatoes and closing on 85-90 peppers.