Dehydration
Dehydration feels like coming down with the flu. Bad flu.
I thought dehydration would be signaled by thirst and exhaustion, so I've been trying to stay aware of thirst levels when I'm outside.
But after many mornings of working in my gardens in 10% humidity on a pleasant warm day, I found that dehydration feels like a terrible ache in the bones, a thudding tight pain in the chest, a headache behind my eyes, and sort of a dull fever. I'm never thirsty or tired, or even that hot, just feeling achy and flu-like and quite sick.
That's dehydration. I've learned, consistently, that when I feel like I'm coming down with something, even though it's a nice day and I'm hardly thirsty, I have to go in and have a glass of water.
That fixes everything after about 10 minutes.
I've been working in the garden, digging and transplanting in the summer dry and heat. Mainly because my designs, carefully planned last winter and planted in May, have failed. I need to move things, get rid of the immediate losses, and try new combinations, because what I thought would work here, DOES NOT.
Moving and digging and transplanting goes on, and as long as I hydrate, I'm okay. The plants -- they're terribly dehydrated too, and they look like they have the flu when I'm done moving them.
I thought dehydration would be signaled by thirst and exhaustion, so I've been trying to stay aware of thirst levels when I'm outside.
But after many mornings of working in my gardens in 10% humidity on a pleasant warm day, I found that dehydration feels like a terrible ache in the bones, a thudding tight pain in the chest, a headache behind my eyes, and sort of a dull fever. I'm never thirsty or tired, or even that hot, just feeling achy and flu-like and quite sick.
That's dehydration. I've learned, consistently, that when I feel like I'm coming down with something, even though it's a nice day and I'm hardly thirsty, I have to go in and have a glass of water.
That fixes everything after about 10 minutes.
I've been working in the garden, digging and transplanting in the summer dry and heat. Mainly because my designs, carefully planned last winter and planted in May, have failed. I need to move things, get rid of the immediate losses, and try new combinations, because what I thought would work here, DOES NOT.
Moving and digging and transplanting goes on, and as long as I hydrate, I'm okay. The plants -- they're terribly dehydrated too, and they look like they have the flu when I'm done moving them.
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