I'm hot!

Around 10:00 this morning I pulled the ladder, extension cord and hedger out of the garage. It was quite warm by then and I was disappointed I hadn't gotten started earlier. I began clipping away at the holly bush, flinging sharp little leaves at myself. Ouch. After getting the first one finished, I went to the backyard to retrieve the wheelbarrow. I also grabbed the rake from the shed and found gloves in the garage. I loaded the wheelbarrow, pushed it to the alley and dumped it....twice. I was getting very hot and went inside for a bottle of water. I took a few sips and thought I was going to be sick. I felt awful. I sat down in the shade for a few minutes and got back to work. There's ivy that grows on top of our boxwoods that Bobby's not particularly fond of so I usually yank it down when I hedge. I started tugging on the ivy and heard a momma bird cussing me! I had uncovered her nest and found two babies. I went inside to get the kids so they could see them.I covered them back up with some of the ivy and left them alone.

I was SO hot at this point, but I still needed to get the other holly bush trimmed up. I carried the ladder to the other side of the house and got to work. Every time I took a sip of water, it made me feel horrible, so I wasn't drinking enough. I would stop working long enough to come inside, or sit in the shade for a few minutes. I decided to stop right at 12:00. I just couldn't handle the heat anymore. My heart was pounding and I was breathing really fast, but shallow. I rolled the extension cord up and put it away along with the hedger. I ended up leaving the leaves on the ground. I had to come inside and cool off, which wasn't an easy task. I actually panicked a little because I felt so weird. I was still having a hard time breathing and my heart was pounding. There were a couple times I thought I was going to pass out...or throw up or both. After taking two showers, making the water cooler and cooler until I finally got my temperature down. I still feel a little icky and that was 4 1/2 hours ago.

FYI: Heat exhaustion is BAD!