Rising with the Sun

A typical day for Jefferson started early, because, in his own words, "Whether I retire to bed early or late, I rise with the sun." He told of a fifty-year period in which the sun had never caught him in bed; he rose as soon as he could read the hands of the clock kept directly opposite his bed.

Record-Keeping

After rising, Jefferson measured and recorded the temperature. Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Jefferson repeated the measurement, as he found "the hottest point of the 24 hours is about four o'clock . . . and the dawn of the day the coldest." He also recorded the direction and speed of the wind and the amount of precipitation. From indoors, Jefferson could see a weathervane positioned over the Northeast Portico of the house; he could also read the wind direction off a compass rose (connected to the weathervane directly above it) on the Northeast Portico's ceiling. Jefferson made note of the weather and other indexes of climate, such as the migration of birds and the appearance of flowers, throughout his life, wherever he was, including France, Washington, and Philadelphia. He shared his records with others in the hope of creating a national database of meteorological information.

Morning Preparations

After his record-keeping, Jefferson started his own fire and soaked his feet in cold water. He maintained the foot bath for sixty years and attributed his good health in part to this habit.

Jefferson's clothes, according to his granddaughter, were "simple and adapted to his ideas of neatness and comfort . . . and sometimes blending the fashions of several periods." In his pockets, Jefferson carried such a variety of portable instruments for making observations and measurements that he's been dubbed a "traveling calculator." Among his collection of pocket-sized devices were scales, drawing instruments, a thermometer, a surveying compass, a level, and even a globe. To record all these measurements, Jefferson carried a small ivory notebook on which he could write in pencil. Back in his Cabinet, or office, he later copied the information into any of seven books in which he kept records about his garden, farms, finances, and other concerns; he then erased the writing in the ivory notebook.