"Dangerous heat"

That's what the paper said.  Nevertheless, today the sweet gum tree was removed to make way for the renovation.  It scared wildlife into hiding, those that might have ventured out in the heat.  The front yard was left barren out to the shade of the pecan.  The lilies under the pecan bloomed.  I saw a brown thrasher inspecting the bare dirt.  A cardinal appeared to be drinking from the hose spigot.

In the back yard, I saw the female cardinal ferrying nesting to the tall cedar.  Sawdust blew on the strong wind. That and the clouds may have mitigated the heat a bit.

A bright, almost-first-quarter moon hung in the West at bedtime.  The 99° high matched the record.