Summer Winding Down....

Well...

we haven't had anymore rain,

since a couple weeks ago,

when we had the six inches.

But, things are still happy.

The back, which is mostly Horse Herb, 

is greening up.

The Lantana is finally blooming.

The Ruellia is finally blooming, too.

I was beginning to think they'd just skip this summer.

And, the Plumbago is putting on a show.

The heat has returned.

There have been a lot of triple digit days here.

But, the forecast is for cooler and wetter days ahead.

We just cross our fingers, when we hear these forecasts.

But our Texas Sage, which is always reluctant to bloom,

is putting on a blooming show.

It's suppose to be a good omen for rain.

Let's hope the sage, and the weather guys,

are right.

We're certainly ready for some rain again.

And, cooler weather would be even more welcome.

Hope all is good in your garden.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

A Little of This, and A Little of That....

I could have named this post the same as the last one...

Summertime Blues.

It's been HOT.

And, DRY.

I'm really hoping this thermometer is not right.

It's pretty close to the one on the other side of the house, though.

The heat, and no rain, is taking a toll on the whole place.

The trees are dropping leaves almost as bad as fall.

Only good thing...less to pick up in fall.

Not much to eat, for these guys. 

Well....except for our landscapes.

Since it's so dry...

...why do I need so much of these?

I don't dare go out without it.

The mosquitoes LOVE me.

It's not all bad, though.

The early morning light still looks good.

Willow enjoys hanging out on the bridge...

as long as the sprinkler's not going.

Sweet Potato loves the heat.

And, so does the Firecracker Fern.

And, some of our recent sunsets, have been very nice.

I was worried about some fungus looking things on this

Golden Barrel Cactus.

It turns out it's new growth!

Yay!

And, this could be good or bad...

Our son-in-law is a safety consultant in the oil and gas industry.

The workers were clearing a site, and plowing up these.

If I read the photo right, they're Sotols of some kind.

He asked if I wanted some.  I said, of course.

So, he's bringing me some.

I hear there are ten..

I need to do some research to see how long they can stay out of the ground.

They live a distance away from us.

So, that's what's going on here.

Trying to keep things alive,

and staying out of the heat.

Tomorrow is supposed to be extra hot.

Then we have a "cold front" coming in.

We could be all the way down to 99!!

Hey...it's all relative.

Have a great weekend.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Summertime Blues....

It's been HOT here.

And, dry.

But, there is still squirrel patrol.

But, she just never can catch them...

That's a good thing.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

If the Creek Don't Rise...

We live beside a wet weather creek.

It goes on two sides of our house.

It comes along the back, and turns at the pond

you can see in the photo below.

This little feature was built by the young man next door,

so his elderly Golden Lab could get wet, without swimming.

This was back in June. The water was flowing over the cart path,

making a little waterfall, on it's way to the Big Waterfall.

Sunday...three days ago...this creek was dry.

The pond...which is four feet deep in places...was dry.

Dry.

Not today.

I'm not sure how much rain we've had.

Our digital rain gauge chose Monday,

as a good day to die.

It's coming across the cart path with a lot of power.

It's rushing down to the Big Waterfall.

I didn't walk down there....it was still raining,

and I didn't want to dodge the runoff.

The pond is full, again.

And, I'm wondering if Nate's wall is still there, 

so Carly can swim.

Water is an amazing thing.

We are thinking about those in Louisiana,

who are dealing with WAY too much water.

Flooding is such a sad thing to deal with.

I hope you're safe, wherever you are.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

In the Lime Light....

I've talked about our daughter's new/old house.

And, the great yard and garden, 

that came with it.

Among the great plants,

is a big lime tree.

I've never lived where you could have a citrus tree,

right in your front yard.

This one needed some care...

trimming and pruning back.

And, that happened.

Looks nice....

And, it seems very happy.

Lots of limes...

We came home Saturday,

with over ten pounds of these delicious limes.

Some are small...but SO tasty.

There is probably another ten pounds on the tree.

And...more to come.

Since we all love limes,

this is a very good thing.

Hope your weekend was great, too.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

We're Still Here....

I haven't been keeping up with this blog too well lately,

it seems

We've had some health issues around here this summer.

So, not much gardening has been going on.

In fact, we're way behind finishing even some Spring projects.

But, we've kept most things alive. 

After the wet spring, the rain faucet was completely turned off.

We've had a third of an inch of rain, since June.

But, things aren't too bad.

On this side of the yard, anyway.

Even a few things blooming.

The Hummers love the Firecracker Fern.

Pots of succulents are pretty easy.

There are signs of fall.

Seed heads turning on the Inland Seaoats.

Sedum blooming.

Even a new pumpkin showed up.

She's pretty, coming and going.

Then, there are the leaves. 

Yep...it's that time again.

And, with that tiny bit of rain we had, stains have set into our nice, clean

power washed driveway and deck.

It's always something.

But....life is good.

Hope all is good where you are.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Daylilies....

The garden here has been well behind others in the area.

We had a hard frost right at the end of February, that set things way back.

At first, I thought maybe the Daylilies were going to take the year off.

No signs at all of buds coming up.

But lately, they've been showing some blooms. 

Here are a few:

Chicago Star...a large, seven inch bloom.

My favorite, Fair Country Winds.

Pandora's Box

Pardon Me...this one used to be red. Not sure what happened.

There are more, just starting to bud. They all need to be moved to more sun.

It's good to see their pretty faces, in the midst of all our recent rain.

Lights up the day a little.

Hope your days are going well.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~