🔥Beating the Heat: Staying Cool While Working in the Summer Sun☀️
Working outdoors in the summer—whether you're knee-deep in a tomato jungle or splitting wood like a modern-day Paul Bunyan—can feel like living inside a hair dryer on high. The sun doesn’t mess around, and neither should you. Staying cool and protected isn't just about comfort—it's about survival. (And not getting roasted like your poor, forgotten zucchini plants.)
Here are some tried-and-true, highly practical ways to keep your cool while wrangling nature in peak summer:
1. Dress Like a Desert Nomad (Minus the Camel)
You might think less is more when it’s hot, but that’s not always the case. Instead of stripping down, gear up—just smartly.
Look for:
-
Lightweight, breathable, long-sleeve shirts made of UPF fabric
🧢 Try: Columbia Men’s Silver Ridge Lite or BALEAF Women’s UPF 50+ Shirts -
Wide-brim hats (because the ball cap you stole from the garage isn't doing your ears any favors)
☀️ Try: Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat – it’s like shade on demand. -
Cooling neck gaiters or bandanas
🧊 Try: MISSION Cooling Neck Gaiter
2. Hydrate Like You Mean It (and Not Just With Coffee)
If you’re sweating like a sinner in church, you need to be replacing fluids and electrolytes. Water is good. Water + salt + potassium = better.
Pro tips:
- Freeze a few water bottles the night before and rotate them throughout the day.
- Add electrolyte tablets to your drinks.
🥤 Try: Nuun Sport Electrolyte Tablets
Avoid the "I'm fine" trap. By the time you're thirsty, you're already on your way to dehydration—right around the time you start thinking it’s a good idea to “just finish this one last thing” in the noon sun. Don’t be that guy.
3. Time Your Tasks Like a Vampire on a Schedule
Nothing wrong with channeling your inner Dracula—get things done early in the morning or late in the evening when the sun isn't trying to kill you. Between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.? That’s siesta time.
Midday indoor activities idea list:
- Sharpen tools
- Label your seed packets
- Finally organize the garage (again)
- Scroll garden memes until the sun forgives you
- Give your log splitter a wipe-down (TW-HDs like baths, too!)
4. Use Shade Like It’s Air Conditioning
If your yard is lacking natural shade, make your own.
🛠️ Try:
Summer weather have you wishing to be on a beach? Add some tropical flair to your wood splitting operation- any fun umbrella will do! ⛱️
5. Keep Your Cool—Literally
Technology has caught up with the problem of sweaty farmers and wood splitters. Enter: cooling gear.
🥶 Try:
- Cooling vests
- Evaporative cooling towels
- A small, battery-powered fan that clips to your overalls and makes you feel like a breeze is always just over your shoulder
6. Don’t Forget Sunscreen (Even if You “Never Burn”)
Spoiler: you do burn. Eventually. Even if you're tan, you're not immune to sun damage. Lather up like you're heading into battle with a star.
🧴 Try:
- Blue Lizard Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50+
- Badger Sport Mineral Sunscreen – organic, reef-safe, and smells like someone who makes their own kombucha (in a good way)
Final Thoughts: It’s Not Weak to Take Breaks
There’s no trophy for heat exhaustion. If you feel dizzy, nauseous, or suddenly cranky enough to yell at your scarecrow, stop. Go inside. Rehydrate. Sit down. You’re not quitting—you’re living to work another day.
Powering through summer is tough work, but with the right gear, planning, and mindset (and maybe a cold watermelon in the fridge), you can work smarter, stay safe, and enjoy the process—even in the heat.
Now go forth and conquer the garden, split that wood, but please—for the love of compost—wear a hat.
🌿💪☀️