I've started writing this post around 11PM on a dark and stormy Sunday night. Rain is pattering on the west window of the living room and Carl is asleep in his Lazy Boy next to me, gently snoring. Another weekend is over.
Rain. What a welcome sound.
We have been in a near drought this year, in fact this is one of the hottest and driest summers in recent memory for us. The Quarry is down to a few inches on the north end and looks dreadful, though the fish are still surviving under the crispy lily pads.
In the picture above, there I am, in all my glorious gardening garb in near 90 degree heat, dragging the hose around, watering. The only thing growing on the lawn is weeds, but since the lawn is mostly weeds, that's ok. Even the annuals are struggling and they were watered quite often. The maroon cannas on the batting cage should be twice that height and the 'Split Second' morning glories are struggling to cover the trellis.
In the last two weeks my hostas have been suffering mightily despite my efforts at keeping them somewhat watered. A great many of them have simply gone flat to the ground and taken any surrounding ferns down with them.
Though it bugs me to run sprinklers for any length of time, I did cave in and water the hostas last weekend. I guess it's the farmer in me, but I hate to think of running my well dry. We don't need another expensive crisis to deal with. Surprisingly, the lawn stays quite green in this part of the yard, it must be comprised of weeds that are more hardy.
I picked a bunch of the Mystery Lilies and brought them in the house. They surely do last a long time in water.
During the first two weeks of August, we had small groups of elders from the local nursing home brought out by bus to tour the gardens. Oh, it was hot! Most of them were in wheelchairs and had helpers along to push them through the gardens. It was wonderful having them here, they were so cheerful despite the heat and had a great deal of questions about the gardens.
The first groups were here August 7, one bus load in the morning and one in the afternoon. I sent them each home with a few flowers for their apartments and they just beamed with delight. If it wasn't such a silly dry year, I could have sent them home with more.
The following Monday, August 13, we had the last group of seniors tour, and that didn't go as well. It was another very hot, humid day, and one of the ninety year-old ladies fainted. We rushed to move her to the shade and put cool compresses on her head while we waited for what seemed like forever for the ambulance to arrive.
Carl directed the rescue squad to the back yard, but by the time they got here, the lady had recovered sufficiently and was able to go back to her assisted living apartment with the help of a registered nurse in a separate car. We were so glad she was ok.
The EMT's said they enjoyed seeing the gardens even though their services weren't needed this time.
The residents were so happy to see butterflies and flowers and I was able to pick some blooms for them, too. I hope we can play host to the nursing home again next year, it is such a privilege to bring the residents some joy.
We had our last garden group of the year last week, a delightful bunch of ladies from Shawano, WI. They were all gardeners and were very interested in the goings-on around here. We did the standard garden tour and then I dragged them in the house to see the lamps, too.
They said they hadn't had much rain this summer either, so we're all in the same predicament, I guess.
I lost count of how many times I sat and stared at the radar this summer, thinking surely this time we'll get some rain, only to see the clouds either part as soon as they neared us or simply fizzle out before they got here. The only thing that has kept the crops in our county alive have been strange pop-up rainstorms, brief and intense where they occurred, but they didn't occur here very often and after they were over, temperatures would soar, drying the ground out rapidly.
Last week, a mere hundred miles from us, the southern part of the state was hit with a record eleven+ inches of rain in one day which caused millions of dollars in damages in flooding. What a disaster; I cannot imagine the devastation. So much rain in one place, nothing here.
A few weeks ago, a terrible-looking storm was looming west of us, this picture was taken around 8PM from the Pachyberm:
Luckily for us, it blew over with no damage at all, but sadly, no rain, either.
I'm grateful for the rain we are finally receiving tonight even though the weather forecasters are grimly predicting severe storm potentials and flash flooding early this week. I hope they're wrong about the nasty stuff, but for now, we'll gladly take the rain.
Hang on! Rain is on its way!
Rain. What a welcome sound.
We have been in a near drought this year, in fact this is one of the hottest and driest summers in recent memory for us. The Quarry is down to a few inches on the north end and looks dreadful, though the fish are still surviving under the crispy lily pads.
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| There's some water in there, somewhere, but not much. |
In the last two weeks my hostas have been suffering mightily despite my efforts at keeping them somewhat watered. A great many of them have simply gone flat to the ground and taken any surrounding ferns down with them.
Though it bugs me to run sprinklers for any length of time, I did cave in and water the hostas last weekend. I guess it's the farmer in me, but I hate to think of running my well dry. We don't need another expensive crisis to deal with. Surprisingly, the lawn stays quite green in this part of the yard, it must be comprised of weeds that are more hardy.
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| I did what I could with the sprinklers, and the hostas perked up a little bit. |
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| The hostas are still wilting and look miserable |
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| Lycoris squamigera aka Mystery Lilies, aka Naked Ladies |
During the first two weeks of August, we had small groups of elders from the local nursing home brought out by bus to tour the gardens. Oh, it was hot! Most of them were in wheelchairs and had helpers along to push them through the gardens. It was wonderful having them here, they were so cheerful despite the heat and had a great deal of questions about the gardens.
Carl directed the rescue squad to the back yard, but by the time they got here, the lady had recovered sufficiently and was able to go back to her assisted living apartment with the help of a registered nurse in a separate car. We were so glad she was ok.
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| A sight I do not want to see again in the garden. |
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| Luckily, the gurney and the ambulance was not needed. |
I lost count of how many times I sat and stared at the radar this summer, thinking surely this time we'll get some rain, only to see the clouds either part as soon as they neared us or simply fizzle out before they got here. The only thing that has kept the crops in our county alive have been strange pop-up rainstorms, brief and intense where they occurred, but they didn't occur here very often and after they were over, temperatures would soar, drying the ground out rapidly.
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| Sneezeweed |
Last week, a mere hundred miles from us, the southern part of the state was hit with a record eleven+ inches of rain in one day which caused millions of dollars in damages in flooding. What a disaster; I cannot imagine the devastation. So much rain in one place, nothing here.
A few weeks ago, a terrible-looking storm was looming west of us, this picture was taken around 8PM from the Pachyberm:
I'm grateful for the rain we are finally receiving tonight even though the weather forecasters are grimly predicting severe storm potentials and flash flooding early this week. I hope they're wrong about the nasty stuff, but for now, we'll gladly take the rain.
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| Keep watering, Lady! Hopefully relief is on the way! |
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| Do you see my little friend? His toes are just sticking out of the bucket.... |
8 comments:
Dear Karen ~ I'm glad you got a little rain, and hope you receive more without the nasty business that storms can bring, and no flooding.
Have a great week ~ FlowerLady
Thank you, dear Rainey! Last night we had just a little over 3/4 of an inch, which was sorely needed. South of us, a few counties away was hit again with far too much rain, and my heart goes out to them as they are enduring flooding. We're supposed to have more rain the next few days, so we'll see if the Quarry will once again have water in it. :-)
We've had an especially long dry summer here. It's always dry over the summer, but this year the rain stopped much earlier than usual. Last night we got a sprinkle finally, just enough to dampen the streets. I heard about that flooding in Madison from another blog, Each Little World. I hope we both get some much-needed rain soon, so we can stop watering.
Glad you got some rain. It's been a terribly hot and dry summer here too. About two weeks ago, we got a few days of rain and it has made such a difference. Everything greened back up. It's amazing how the plants in Texas can do that.
Loved this post! I like your little friend peeking up the top of the bucket, so cute. Gosh even with the drought, your place is magical. Surprised those lily pads are even green with all the dryness.
Sweet little lady, I am so glad she is o.k. well that will be something they will all be talking about back with the other seniors. She was in good hands even before the ambulance arrived.
I am waiting for a very cold and snowy winter, I am hoping so hard for it. I know you get your share where you are but we need some hard long freeze here. I am thinking it would help with the japanese beetles and other critters who have been busy tearing up the vegetation around here.
I see the little orange flower is called a sneeze weed. I have some and didn't know the name.
Betsy
I find more and more lovely features in your garden with every post. I love that cascading waterfall and your watering lady. Your garden is still so lovely and colorful, and what a blessing you are to those old folk visiting. Flowers from someones garden are always a lovely gift. We too are struggling with drought here in Australia, and our local markets have been collecting for the poor farmers to the west of us. Take care
Hooray for the return of rain! Fingers crossed that you don't get floods in your area but that you do get more rain. Love your little friend.
The water feature with the large black "plates" is very cool, very unusual. I guess one of your creative inventions. My mom is in a nursing home, and I thought of how she would have loved to see your magnificent garden.
The toad in the bucket: Priceless!
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