It would seem that my muse reached her breaking point just after June's bloom day post ... I'm not sure if she deserted me for cooler climes or if she absconded to Pat O'Brien's while the Executive Producer and I were in the Big Easy for a weekend.
I resisted increasingly pointed and acerbic suggestions by the Head Gardener that she take over posting in my muse's absence, feeling certain that said muse would eventually return with a scathingly brilliant idea and inspire me to new heights of prose. Lloyd knows my heat and drought addled brain isn't up to the task without her ... oh, I've had numerous ideas but I just can't seem to find the energy to execute them.
It's also hard to type when your hand is fused to the end of a garden hose. While my corner of Katy did get almost 5 hours of steady rain on June 22nd, and the 2 inches of rain did benefit both gardeners and gardens, like most of the state of Texas, the greater Houston area remains in a state of exceptional drought (the highest level). Until that rainfall, the city of Houston had recorded a record-setting 148 days without at least a half-inch of rain falling on a single day.
To add insult to injury, we've experienced record-breaking heat as well and last month was the warmest June in Houston's history since 1906. Even some of our most heat-hardy and drought-tolerant plants are showing signs of stress, so it's no wonder that the Head Gardener and I are feeling more than a little stressed ourselves. Once we come inside for the day, cool down and clean up, we do not venture forth to the garden again until late evening, if then.
So if I continue to be remiss in posting or if my posts are limited to a few brief words and a picture or two, bear with me. Right now all that's keeping me going is the knowledge that in 16 days, I'll be winging my way towards Seattle and the 2011 Garden Bloggers' Fling.
I resisted increasingly pointed and acerbic suggestions by the Head Gardener that she take over posting in my muse's absence, feeling certain that said muse would eventually return with a scathingly brilliant idea and inspire me to new heights of prose. Lloyd knows my heat and drought addled brain isn't up to the task without her ... oh, I've had numerous ideas but I just can't seem to find the energy to execute them.
It's also hard to type when your hand is fused to the end of a garden hose. While my corner of Katy did get almost 5 hours of steady rain on June 22nd, and the 2 inches of rain did benefit both gardeners and gardens, like most of the state of Texas, the greater Houston area remains in a state of exceptional drought (the highest level). Until that rainfall, the city of Houston had recorded a record-setting 148 days without at least a half-inch of rain falling on a single day.
To add insult to injury, we've experienced record-breaking heat as well and last month was the warmest June in Houston's history since 1906. Even some of our most heat-hardy and drought-tolerant plants are showing signs of stress, so it's no wonder that the Head Gardener and I are feeling more than a little stressed ourselves. Once we come inside for the day, cool down and clean up, we do not venture forth to the garden again until late evening, if then.
So if I continue to be remiss in posting or if my posts are limited to a few brief words and a picture or two, bear with me. Right now all that's keeping me going is the knowledge that in 16 days, I'll be winging my way towards Seattle and the 2011 Garden Bloggers' Fling.
Comments
Looking forward to meeting lots of my favorite bloggers.
Same here, Carol!
Gail, it's hard to convey just how bad it is. Any areas I water dry out within hours.
Jean, I hope the rain I see on the radar graced your garden. I'm looking forward to lifting a glass with you!
Alison, I just hope I don't bring a heat wave with me to Seattle as I did to Buffalo last year!
Andrea, gardens and gardeners alike are wilting!