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| A dog can melt in this combination of heat and humidity. |
The weather maps were showing some optimism about rain arriving mid-week, so I watered the entire Rose Garden. That is one technique to make it rain. Washing and waxing the car is the last desperate act to bring on a thunderstorm.
Clouds without rain - but plenty of thunder - arrived about 2 AM. Some rain is still expected, even though the radar suggests otherwise.
I water with a little gadget from Amazon. When it arrived, I thought it was some little toy thrown into the box. Previous watering tools were heavy and much more expensive. This one spits out water into the air and flings it around in circles.
Joe Pye is the clue that the soil is getting dry. The leaves wilt the way pumpkin and corn leaves do. I had some good Veterans Honor roses for Sunday, and Ranger Bob took them to the cemetery for his step-father and mother. More of them were glowing in the garden, and I wanted to keep them blooming.
The diligent gardener is bound to soak himself, I assume. The faucet is in the bushes - what a great place to hide it! Three locations water the garden with the water spinner. Inevitably, the water will fall on the faucet area and make changes tricky.
Sassy was not sympathetic. I washed her earlier so she would start drying. Towel drying and walking to see Bob were not enough to dry the undercoat. Waiting outside or sitting on a towel were not enough to make much difference. She was not angry with me, just disappointed.
Crepe Myrtle are drought hardy but they respond well to water. The one I dote on - by the kitchen window - is twice as tall as their kin planted in the bright sun, yet lacking extra rain portions. A total of nine of them will provide seeds in the fall for birds short on food.
As expected, Mrs. Gardener['s fence plants have grown under the fence and bloomed where I used to have roses. I saw that coming when Morning Glory compost was dropped along the fence, followed by Hosta and Day Lilies carefully planted. Those three are invasive, but Crepe Myrtles are bully plants, claiming their own turf by growing tall and throwing shade on the competition.
