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Chronicles of a Beginner
This archived discussion is "read only". « Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next » » KateBerry - I'm not sure which is more discouraging... I'm not sure which is more discouraging: watching my garden wilt and fry in an unrelenting heatwave accompanied by a drought (with no relief in sight, if the weatherman is to be believed), or writing a gardening column and carrying on discussions in which so few seem interested.Perhaps it's the heat. It seems that everyone I talk to these days is suffering from an oppressive summer, whether they're in the Midwest, on the East Coast, in Minnesota, or even in the typically temperate climes of the Northwest. Makes me think that, although El Nino is old news and La Nina's memory is fading as well, there's something strange about this weather. Of course, when the temperatures get this high, the tempers flare, too. I'm sure there's a connection there: temperatures...tempers. Mine's no exception: nearly whupped Hubby today for once again tinkering with the thermostat. Yes, I know it's good conservation to keep the AC set to 80* and that both the houseplants and the dogs are quite comfortable with it. But I'm more, well, "delicate." I don't like sweat. Mental note: I'd make a fortune if I could come up with a thermostatic control that required a PIN number. At least the tomatoes are ripening now. Had my first two last night, and canned my first batch of pickles. The table is set with a nice bunch of Tout a Toi dahlias, and it looks like my hibiscus moschato will bloom any day now. Which means, of course, that the water bill is worth every penny. So in the interest of more flowers, a green lawn, non-cracked tomatoes, and keeping Hubby's fingers off the thermostat, I think I'm going to go set up my sprinkler, run through it a few times, and then do a little rain dance for all of us. Let me know if it works. -- posted by KateBerry » CarolWallace - tempers and temperatures I used to have an uncontrollable temper - but over the years have learned to damp it so far down that now when the heat rises I just get depressed. Aand today I was looking hard at the gardens and seeing exactly where I want to move things - except with no rain and so much heat I don't dare.Lucky (?) for us, we don't have an air conditioner to fight over. We just go outside and drip, and come in to drip a bit less. -- posted by CarolWallace » KateBerry - And the heat goes on... When I was a kid, I loved summer mornings. I loved the smell of grass warmed by the sun. I loved taking a drink from a garden hose, that first warm, rubbery gulp followed by sweet, refreshing coolness. I loved the sizzle the water made as it hit the scorched sidewalk, the feel of the hot ground under my bare feet.Most of all I loved waking up in the summer knowing that for weeks on end, I did not have to go to school to sit in childhood's prison endlessly absorbing knowledge that I would not need for years to come. Summertime meant freedom, the essence of being a child. Summer mornings had their own rhythm. Once the flush of commuters heading for work had cleared, the days took on a lazy, tentative beat so different from the hustle and bustle of the school year. Lawnmowers purred in the background, sprinklers chuck-chuck-chucked across lawns. After a while, the grownups would gather at fencelines or on porches, paused in their daily work to exchange news, their low, quiet conversations adding a hum to the air. In the summer it seemed like mornings never quite ended. The clock would move forward and the hours would progress, but the days themselves never quite seemed to wake up. Life was slow, with no sense of urgency. But then, what's the point of urgency when the days are so long and the nights so temperate that the only difference between them is simply the dwindling light? But I'm not a child now. And I'm dealing with a long, dry heatwave. Heat changes everything, doesn't it? Heat has a way of making the morning more urgent. On days like this, when it's 98* F at 5:30 a.m., laying in bed and reveling in the crisp feel of cool sheets is out of the question. There's no time to be sluggish when the afternoon is expected to reach 103. So I was up this morning - as were most of my neighbors - long before the grass had even felt the first rays of sun, turning on the sprinklers whose relentless chuck-chuck-chucking set the tempo for the rest of the day. Weeding at dawn, hauling watering cans, my neighbors and I curtly nodded toward each other as we all braced our lawns for today's heat. No time to talk, no news to exchange: it is hot, and will only get hotter. Wisely, our dogs and cats settled into the increasingly scarce patches of shade and watched as we worked. Only the kids seemed impervious to the unspoken deadline compelling the adults to get their tasks done before the sun peeked over the trees. As we shut off the sprinklers, wound up the hoses and worriedly looked over our increasingly brown lawns, the children emerged from their homes. It is their neighborhood now. Their playground. It is only 10:30 a.m., yet the neighborhood is devoid of adults. We sit in air-conditioned houses watching weather breaks on t.v., wagging our heads in consternation as the forecast announces another five days of high temps and no rain. Our dogs and cats, listless and panting, have retreated indoors to find a quiet, cool place to nap. But the children run rampant. Lemonade stands will appear by lunchtime. Kiddie pools will overflow with bodies and toys. They'll play in the street, browned arms and legs glistening with sweat and drink out of garden hoses, spraying each other down. They'll laugh without care, knowing only that today - and for weeks to come - there is no school. They are free, their days are their own, and they have hours on end to play with abandon and be simply children. And for that, heat is a small price to pay. -- posted by KateBerry » KateBerry - This is getting redundant. It was hot yesterday. Hot today. More heat expected tomorrow. At last, however, there is some relief in sight: the forecast for next week has us dipping into the low 90s. Sounds miserable still, but compared to the consistently 100+ we've had these past days, any relief is appreciated.Traffic fatalities are up. Melting tires, overheated engines, problems with the roads are all causing driving deaths. Farmers are selling off cattle they can't afford to feed. One local farmer -- one of our last holdouts against the slow takeover by subdivisions -- just sold off the remainder of his stock. He says he's going to retire now, perhaps somewhere cooler. Like Florida. We're expecting to receive word from our township that we'll have to ration water soon. Most homeowners have been pretty responsible about watering lawns, but since our little town purchases water from the big city down the street, the big city's City Hall has decided their residents come first. And, since the heat won't let up, I'm going to spend the day indoors reading Grapes of Wrath. Maybe that will put things in perspective. -- posted by KateBerry » CarolWallace - We're already rationing But I can only recall one good rain in the last two months.Doesn't make for much of a garden journal - drag the hose a bit, watch things shrivel - if only their was a way to purify our own salty perspiration and recycle it! -- posted by CarolWallace » CarolWallace - By the way Better re-resend youre last message. That machine died. I'm on the laptop now - but it is devoid of email, address books or bookmarks. All gone. ;-(-- posted by CarolWallace » KateBerry - What a week! I'm glad your laptop arrived before your computer died. Kind of funny how helpless we feel when that happens. But isn't it amazing how quickly within the last 5 years or so we've grown to think of computers as an integral part of our days?The sweat-recycling suit... that's something mentioned in the book Dune that I always thought was interesting. Says a lot about the weather, though, if we're thinking up post-apocalyptic devices, huh? On to the good news: It rained! Only 0.019, but rain nevertheless. And today, surprisingly enough, the forecast says we won't top 90. What a wonderful respite in the heat... and perfectly timed for the weekend. Why, I might just find enough energy to get out there and weed! -- posted by KateBerry » KateBerry - Rain Dancing I don't know if the rain dancing paid off, but I'm sure not about to complain! Yesterday's rain was just a hint of relief, and last night we had a rollicking thunderstorm that sent a smile across my face at 4 a.m. when it struck.We've needed this. I know hearing about drought and a heat wave gets so redundant, but with the weather we've had, it's hard to pay attention to anything else. Yesterday's milder temperatures allowed Hubby -- who's a little more heat tolerant than I am -- to get out and work on the pond. Now filled and lined with rocks, the only step left to completing the pond is getting the waterfall working. Oh, and replacing the fish. In his eagerness to complete the project, Hubby purchased a bag full of goldfish and let them loose in the brand new pond. It didn't take five minutes for the little guys to die. Now that he's read the part in the instructions which explains why the filter needs to run 24 hours before the fish are let loose, we'll give it a try once again. Not today, though. Today, it's raining again! As I sit here typing, there's a steady light rain pouring down from increasingly cloudy skies. The weatherman says it's only a temporary reprieve, but a little relief is better than none. As for me, I was so grateful I just couldn't resist a walk through the garden to watch as my plants sprang back to life. -- posted by KateBerry » CarolWallace - After 24 hours I did read that part of the book before I went to get fish - and I still didn't trust it - so I went really cheap and bought t hese incredibly tiny "feeder" fish at $1 for 20. I thought of trhem as test fish to see if the water is ready - but they all lived and are now HUGE and having babies.Water gardens are a real blessing in a drought. They don't evn notice it except for having the water level dropping. -- posted by CarolWallace » KateBerry - Things that grow in the water Bless Hubby's heart: when he gets his mind set on finishing a project, there's nothing that can hold him back. Yesterday evening, while I napped on the sofa (pregnant women seem to need an amazing amount of sleep!), he got out there and fixed that waterfall. (And found that last fish carcass, thank goodness.)And you're right, Carol -- water gardens are truly divine. From where I sit in the kitchen at our 'shrine to the almighty computer,' I can just hear the sound of the falling water. (This, of course, has prompted an even higher number of trips back and forth to the bathroom.) It added such a new pleasure to my walk through the garden this morning. Best yet -- now I get to pick out all sorts of water plants! We're expecting a couple of days in the mid-80s, then back to the 90s and higher, so I need to get out and weed the garden before the temperatures get unreasonable again. Mornings are out of the question these days... I've given up doing much before 10 a.m. besides sitting at the computer and clutching the kitchen counter until my knuckles are white, chanting "I will not get morning sickness today. I will not get morning sickness today. I will not..." then running like a madwoman through the house because chanting rarely works. -- posted by KateBerry « Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next » Please follow the guidelines set forth in the Suite101 Posting Etiquette when adding to the discussion. |
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