Scenes From My Garden

Per my daughter's request:

It's Hot Out There!

The view from the top of the ladder. The water may look refreshing, but I threw in a thermometer and the water was a hot-tub like 96 degrees! Needless to say, I didn't swim.







I usually walk the 3 blocks to work, and lately, with this heat we are having, that 3 blocks seems twice as long. The roads here are covered in tar, with gravel over it. When it's this hot, the tar rises. The road actually felt spongy as I walked on it yesterday. I remember "popping" those tar bubbles as a kid with our toes. We would have black feet all summer because we never wore shoes, and that stuff doesn't come off easily!

Popcorn Party

I threw a kernel of popcorn that didn't make it into the pan into the scrap bowl. When I went to dump it in the compost pile a couple of days later, it had sprouted. Who would've thunk it? So I stuck it in the ground by the gooseberry bushes and forgot about it. One day I noticed a big ole piece of grass growing in my gooseberries and went to pull it when I remembered the popcorn. So I left it alone. I didn't expect anything because there isn't any other plants for it to cross pollinate with, but it's actually forming an ear! If it actually makes popcorn, I may have to try a whole row next year!

Tales From the Bitchy Cashier

We've had some extremely hot weather mixed with massive humidity--the kind that makes you feel like you are trying to breath underwater. Miserable. It's just high summer in the Midwest. It happens almost every year and we all stay in a much as possible. Thank God for air-conditioning. Which I imagine is why the woman brought her dog into the store the other day. It's common knowledge that pets aren't allowed in grocery stores, but some people seem to think that doesn't apply to small dogs. If you can carry it in your purse, you can bring it in. Wrong! I noticed she was carrying her purse weirdly when she first came in the store, but I didn't realize she had a dog-- two, as it turned out. I think what pissed me off the most was the fact that there was another woman with her. She could have stayed in the car with the dogs and ran the air conditioning. This was just a "show-off" thing. When they got to the register they made a point of being loud enough so everyone knew that there was a puppy in the bag also. I didn't say anything, but I wanted to say, "you know if the Health Inspector comes right now, we're going to get in trouble". Some people just don't think the rules apply to them!

Song of the Day: Collective Soul - December

I keep hearing this song lately, so I'm making it my "Song of the Day"! I love the first two lines "Why drink the water from my hand? Contagious as you think I am". I just think it's a smooth song!

Oh, Hail!

After all of the rain we have had here, I spent a big part of yesterday pulling weeds. Bunches and bunches of weeds. I still had a little to finish, but it was miserably hot and I decided to jump in the pool and finish today. Because it was actually warm enough to get in the pool! Yay! Naturally, it rained through the night. Not just rain. Hail, too. The "ping, ping" woke me up a little after 2 a.m. I ran out on the porch, while all of the cats ran past me to get into the house, and watched. After all, there isn't anything that can be done but watch. I can't see much of the garden out of my kitchen window, but what I can see looks okay. I should have become a meteorologist, because even though I was worried about my plants, I love storms!