MY WEEDS ARE WILTING!
Does that give you an idea how bad things are here?
We’re running sprinklers on the gardens at the front door and hand watering the herb garden and containers, but everything else is being left to the whim of the weather. I have some tall weeds at the edge of the grove to the north of the house, and yesterday I realized that the weeds are wilting. I have never seen weeds wilt before.
On the news tonight, they announced that we are in the worst drought since 1988. In the period from March 16 to July 16, the Chicago area has received 9.09 inches of precipitation less than the norm. I suspect that our little area is further in the hole than that. We are just north of a freeway, and there is something about those ribbons of cement that detours the rain clouds.
I’m going to look up the instructions for rain dances, and encourage all my friends to pray for RAIN! Please! I need a week of gloomy, gray, drippy days. I promise I won’t complain.
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
Do you mind if I pray for rain after this afternoon’s race at NH International Speedway?
That way, if there is some misunderstanding of the region that the rain is supposed to drop, then I won’t be on a million fans’ shit list!
I have plenty of rain here from Hurricane Dennis I would love to send your way!
My heart goes out to you, Buffy. At last (in my neck of the woods) we are having a summer with rain — after a drought that lasted years. I cannot emphasize how tired I was of packing around watering cans and sprinklers. And of course the end result was the ground just packed harder and harder until it was like concrete. Sadly, no amount of water has the magic of raindrops. This year we have regular showers. Not too much rain, but I’m willing to share what we have. I’ll do all the chants and dances to try and send some your way. If you end up with too much, well — them is the hazards.
Buffy, I will happily do the Rain Dance with you if it is to cover both sides of the pond. It sounds as if things over here aren’t quite as bad as you have it at the moment but last winter the UK had something in the order of 50% less than the usual amount of rain and so all of the water reservoirs are seriously low. The end result? Established plants seem to be coping reasonably well but all the new plants that have not yet established are struggling to survive.
And I’m not even going to MENTION the humidity…
Bogie….Be SPECIFIC in those prayers! We REALLY NEED that rain…
Susan….send it over, PLEASE!!
Ah, Roberta, you understand. Come dance with me. Our little area has been a microcosm of drought for a number of years. I have given up watering the driveway garden. I have a spot all cleared for new plantings and have skipped the replanting for two springs now. It’s just too hard for even newly planted perennials to last without help. Gentle rain….Bogie…gentle rain over NE ILLINOIS, if you please!
Join us, Adele! Yeah….I’ve divided half my iris. I was going to do all of them, but it would have been just too risky. As it is, I may not get all of those I’ve replanted through to the winter. I hope you get more precipitation this year.
Adele, I’ll mention the humidity….
I can’t believe how HUMID it is here. I mean, the Chicago area is ALWAYS humid…but it seems worse in this summer of over 90 degree days and no rain. Where the heck is the moisture coming from?? No wonder the plants are dying…every little drop of moisture in their leaves is being wrung out of them. The entire corn crop around us is a loss. THe plants are three or four feet high and tassling, when they should be seven or eight feet tall. Forget corn this year! All we have to share is HUMIDITY!
Humidity and heat – the two ingredients north central Texas abounds with.
We did get a little shower this afternoon, just enough to make the backyard feel like the inner most part of the Amazon jungle.
Usually, we don’t need to do a rain dance. Often, just an expensive professional car wash will do the trick…
Sending you some of the heavy rains associated with hurricanes…without the wind!
All the rain has come to lower Canada and then way down south the hurricanes… seems Mother Nature is just NOT spreading it out well! I wish for rain for you… when the weeds are wilting it is just way too dry.
Awwwwwww, Pattie….I’m green with envy. A shower…..that sounds so lovely. Of course, it would leave the ground dry, and we’d just add mosquitoes to the mix. That’s the ONLY good thing about the drought, so far.
Hey….I’m still trying to work on that quilt design for you. Maybe by next week I’ll have the basics ready.
Doc! What a guy! Rain without killer winds….that’s just what we need. I hope you’re having a good summer.
Thanks, Des….it’s really bad here. Are you getting enough rain? I thought you might be fairly far north, and out of the band of showers.
Actually, we are getting some quick and heavy showers daily now… enough to keep the grass growing and actually make it a bit difficult to fit in mowing if you want the grass to be a bit drier so it can mow without sticking to the blade.
Hunky Husband was pre-positioned in Texas by the American Red Cross last Saturday. Today, he said he had learned much in going through the advance planning; but, he expects Hurricane E to be a non-event for Texas. He’s not sure whether he’ll be coming home this week (probably will, though) or whether he will be sent to Florida for flooding (they probably won’t need someone of his level).
I said prayers – but obviously got someone confused – we got thunder showers shortly after the race on Sunday. Sorry my aim wasn’t better!
Des….we don’t mow here…the grass is brown and crispy.
Cop Car, I saw that what was left of “E” hit south of Brownsville. A little practice for emergencies can’t hurt.
Speaking of practice, Bogie….get with it! The forecast is for hotter and SUNNY for the rest of the week!