Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Hot.



Three day weekend coming up. Spending it on the lake with Laura. Tomatoes are being harvested. Beans and cukes have been pickled. I mowed the grass this morning. Too hot to do much else. Plants are hanging in there. I'm not.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Peaches and herbs.

Have you ever eaten a peach from a tree you planted in the backyard? A peach washed by the summer rainstorm that passed through about an hour before? I have. It was delicious.

Photobucket

About 100 more to come.

Photobucket

The stargazers are still going strong. Seen here with a small Zuni crape myrtle, fancy ditch lilies, Red Texas Star, and a few bits and pieces of other things.

Photobucket

Goldstrum is blooming. The wasps still enjoy the spearmint.

Photobucket

Full Moon Coreopsis gives me some yellow in the yard. It sprawled again. It should grow to about 32". It makes it to about 30 and hits the ground leaving the crown exposed.

Photobucket

The blackberry lilies are blooming too. I wintersowed lots of seeds and planted all of them out a few weeks ago. They will bloom next year for the first time.

Photobucket

On Thursday, a customer came into the store to let us know there were some kittens in a box in the parking lot. Four of them. One went home with a cashier. I am currently in possession of the other three and trying to find them good homes. One is spoken for but will remain with me for a couple weeks. The two males are available.

I gave them a bath as soon as we got home. They were covered in fleas.

Photobucket

The spoken for calico and her brother.

Photobucket

Big tabby is big.

Photobucket

We're about to get our third storm of the afternoon. It's nice having rain every day. The mosquitoes are multiplying faster than the bats.

Photobucket

It's 85 degrees and soggy.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Rain on the 4th.

Spent the day on Lake Tillery. I'm fast approaching Lobster Red. It's been hot the past few days like it is in July. In the garden center, the thermometers near the registers topped 100 degrees. The official number was 98 on Sunday. We all got a break yesterday. The garden enjoyed nearly 3/4" of rain that started around 6pm. It was windy at first and then the rain fell in sheets. There's a 30% chance of rain everyday for the rest of the summer it seems.

The stargazers are scorched in the heat. The paper-like blooms of the hibiscus are still wet this morning. The grasses are starting to spike.

Photobucket

It's 70 degrees with light high clouds. More rain possible this evening. I need to pick some beans this morning. I might not get a chance when I get back from the lake.