Better get a snow gauge too....farmers almanac is not making me happy with its winter predictions.

Today it has is cooler and very windy. I think before I get to work I will walk Charle....he seems to need to get out and smell something other than the house. Besides, the neighbors chickens are outside the dog yard and he wants to chase them. Have a good day and stay cool. The heat will soon be over and Fall will be upon us.

Ah yes, the infamous neighbors chickens. Poor Charlie having to put up with them roaming around.

Oh yes Rita, the one hen hatched 10 chicks. Two died and 8 survived. Now all of them are too big to crawl under the fence, so they now fly over it. ALL 9 OF THEM....PLUS TWO OTHER HENS FROM THE LAST FLOCK. My kids are about to gather them up and haul them away and sell them. It is not funny anymore. They come up on my back deck, eat the cat food with the cat there, and poop all over the deck. I spray them with the hose, I chase them, I scream at them and nothing happens. They are very friendly to say the least. If you wanted those chicks to make it, the hawks and fox would have eaten them weeks ago. But, no, these little &^&%$^Y(_ all survived.

Good idea on them rounding them up and selling them off!

Those chickens sound like a nuisance, JB. Would be nice if they at least left fresh eggs for you!!

Weather. Is anyone getting any rain? I totaled up the August rainfall amounts here today, and we had slightly less than 1.75 inches for the whole month.

Glad you finally got some rain, even though less than hoped for. Here, we had a fair amount of rain yesterday and this morning I finally put out my brand new rain gauge, so I can keep track of rainfall now!

Well, but we didn't get any recently though. The last measurable rainfall was on the 23rd, I think. Nothing since then at all.

Rain gauges are essential, IMO. I have to keep moving ours because plants get in the way of it. (A good thing.)

that really sucks, Kyla. I hope the rain we just had heads south for you!

'Twould be nice! I don't have much to say about the weather anymore, except, we need rain.

Thank goodness for hoses though. And info about drought-tolerance in plants and info about how to improve soil water-retention (working on that) and how to plant to reduce evaporation....

Still, rain. This is not a dry-season area here, not supposed to be.

I dunno.

I know, xeriscaping is looking more attractive, isn't it? I have had to do less watering this year than last, so I think focusing on plants native to this region helped somewhat--plus more plants that do well in medium to dry conditions.

Yes it is. And I know I would not like the tropics, despite the lush plants they can grow there. Too sticky, that weather.

I have lived in dry places, I've been happy with that kind of gardening. This here, though, you don't know what it's going to be, and so, what if it turns real wet next? Drown all that xeriscape.

I know, don't catastrophize. And I'm not, not really. I'm really more concerned for the wildlife and the native flora and fauna, the bugs and birds, how they're going to handle this, than I am for my garden -- I have way many more options than the critters and the local plant communities do.

I have a lot of sedum and that seems to do really with our moisture levels. Also, Rudbeckia, Agastache, Solidago, Yarrow, Salvia, Cosmos, and various herbs do really well--they're fine with average moisture levels, but can tolerate dry spells as well.

I've been seeing more and more about the importance of supporting the pollinators and the native habitats that support them. However, I think that awareness still needs to make its way to the general public. And I also still encounter serious gardeners who think they should run for insecticides whenever their plants look munched on. My feeling is, the plants exist to give life back to the earth, and I get to enjoy their beauty along the way. So, I'm tolerant of the life that my plants support. Except for fall tentworms, which give me the heebie jeebies.

I sometimes wonder if we all gardened (and lived, really) with more of that awareness of the needs of the life around us -- the native plant communities, the wildlife -- maybe that could help regularize the weather.

Wild thought, I know. But if not so much area were taken by unnatural surfaces and substances but allowed to be harmoniously alive -- I bet it would affect the weather, and help balance it out.



(I'm having fun resurrecting some pictures from my last garden. Can you tell? )

All that asphalt does reflect back the sun and make it warmer, not to mention all the carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect.

Today it got up to 102.

But we have forecasts of rain and I am hopeful!

102--yikes! Hope you get some relief soon!!

It broke a record.

I am hearing thunder right now, and the temp has dropped quite a bit. I'm not usually up this late but was on a conference call and so I'm awake to hear the thunder. I so hope we get a good soak over the next week.

Hope you got some rain last night, Kyla!

We had quite a bit yesterday--need to go out and check my brand new rain gauge!

okay, just checked the rain gauge--we have gotten almost 2.5 inches since this weekend! :-o