It's too hot to be outside, so I'm reading emails and up pops the newsletter from the Garden Club of Dallas. Had to share this from Tom Wilten. He said only Texans could appreciate the weight of this blessing.

Bless this house, oh Lord we request.
Please keep us cool in mid-August.

Bless the walls where termites dine,
While ants and roaches march in time.

Bless our yards where spiders pass
Fire ant castles in the grass.

Bless the garage, a home to please
Carpenter beetles, ticks, and fleas.

Bless the love bugs, two by two,
The gnats and mosquitoes that feed on you.

Millions of creatures that fly or crawl,
In Texas Lord, you’ve put them all.

But this is home and here we’ll stay,
So thank you Lord for insect spray!

Tom Wilten
Dallas Garden Club
Green Thumb newsletter

LOVE it! It is too true!

If it creeps or crawls, it's hiding somewhere in our backyard!

Ain't that the truth!!I am not afraid of many creepy crawlers. I have made ALL the snakes aware, that if I see them, any part of them there will be no time to determine if they are venomous or not so I will just kill them to be safe. And that goes for skinks that even closely resemble a snake! They heard, and I haven't seen one in a looooong time!

ShadyGreenThumb said:LOVE it! It is too true!

We actually had a two inch rain in less than five minutes yesterday afternoon! Well actually, the few raindrops were measuring two inches apart!

The rain split all around us. Not one drop here! The sprinklers are on. Plants and lawn can't take too much of this near-century stuff. On a sad note, I found a flea in the house!!! Craaaaap! Dogs have been treated. The carpet will be treated tonight, and the yard againnnnn this evening.

Oooh, that's too bad. I'm always afraid our granddog is going to take deer ticks home from the lake and share them with us.

The front yard is crunchy in spots. I'm going to go out tonight and hand water the edges of the lawn by the sidewalk. Only being able to water with sprinklers is not doing the job. I haven't had one bloom on the plumerias this summer. They are full of leaves and growing, but no flowers. Same with the brugmansias. We've been a little preoccupied, so I guess I have an excuse this year. Thankfully, the caladiums have offered spots of color throughout the backyard. Otherwise, it would look fairly bleak back there.

I've seen pictures of your yard, Sandy. It's beautiful! I would hardly think the absence of a few flowers make it bleak. You have some wonderful foliage! Your plants are forgiving. Keep them alive and you have blooms next year. This is my first year of blooming Plumies. They got a LOT and continue to get a lot of my attention My brugs show no buds either. But usually I get them closer to September. My Four O'Clocks are off, too? Who reset the flower clocks???

It's too sad...I had hopes of a real rain, but alas, it quit so quickly! Nothing much in the gauge to measure. I like the "blessing". Scorpions, mosquitoes and yellowjackets...yeah, we're so blessed. But the greatest "blessing" of all right now is my poison ivy rash! I think the kittens may have given me that out of their great affection for me. Normally I NEVER get any poison ivy rash...for many years, none. I don't have any of those plants inside the fenced yard and I know exactly where every single bit of P.I. is on the property, so I avoid it. And yes, the furred ones can pass it on if they get into it!

Cheryl , at least you're getting some rain. I think the drought and my lack of fertilizing has taken a toll on the yard. I haven't even gone on any plant trips. None of us have this summer.

Linda, I never thought about getting poison ivy from pets. That's something else to worry about! We have a feral cat that set up housekeeping in our storage shed. I felt sorry for her and fed her. She repaid my kindness with five kittens! We found homes for the kittens, but she's still around. Had her fixed so no more kitties, but she's back and forth in the green belt behind us. I'm really allergic to PI. Yikes!

Sandi, I LOVE it!

And, yes, you have a very valid excuse this year. Do what you can and have faith in the plants' tenacity.

Glad you liked it, Debra!
I keep thinking of what I have to put away for winter in November! I've barely finished getting 'em all out!

Sandi, I think that cats usually avoid the poison ivy...for whatever reason, I don't know. They say cats don't normally have poison ivy rash or anything. But this is the first time since I've lived out here that I've thought any cat gave me such a rash. The kittens have only been outside for just brief periods of time. When they do get out, they're fascinated by everything, wanting to play with every single thing they see. Hopefully, they'll eventually learn to be more careful. Funny...you have just a mother cat now and I have kittens, but had never seen their mother (someone dumped the kittens here in the spring).

We don't have a cat....she has us! The kittens destroyed quite a few plants. One or two would have been plenty, but five kittens were way too many. I have some large potted trees and they would climb them. Five kittens in a tree meant limb breakage. There was no way to herd cats!

You should see what the local raccoons do to plants here! Coons climb and sometimes dig in pots and they cause damage! I have plans to trap and relocate the family of coons that are the worst offenders sometime soon!

Something's digging up my large area of dwarf Monkey Grass!! CRITTERS!!

Go get 'em, Cheryl!

Where's my gun?! WAIT. I don't have one!

Slingshot?