The Dregs of Summer

'Christopher Marlowe', looking very pink:
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It's been so hot for so long, I've been stuck in the house cleaning Cuddles nose art off the windows.
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I even washed the kitchen cabinets.  They apparently needed it.  
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Washed Cuddles traction rug and hung it out in the heat to dry.  Cuddles has some trouble getting up off the stone floor and a rug helps.  Gives her something to have accidents on, too.  Senior dogs get away with accidents.  It used to be Hoover's traction rug, and Teddy-Bear's before that.  It's been through a lot, just like an old dog. 
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I even vaccumed out the garage.  This indicates serious desperation.  I used the concrete guy's shop vac, which he left when he finished up the culvert, saying he'd be back for it and his wheel barrow in a couple of days.  Almost two months later, it's still waiting, so I started using it.  I called him and talked to him twice.  He knows it's waiting.   It did a great job on the garage.  
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Cleaning is all well and good, but I long to be out in the garden.  It's just been so very, very, hot for so very, very, long.  For nearly two months now the weather people have been saying, "It's going to cool down in two days...", and two days later, they say "It's going to cool down in two days..." and it hasn't.  So I'm pretty grumpy.  
'Gold Medal'--but not for the meteorogists:
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I did get the new compost area going, with an open-bottomed container half-buried.  I can pile compostables in it for a while, let them break down, then pull out the barrel and scoop out the compost.  Such is the theory, anyway.  It will soon be hidden behind the Ligustrum hedge, which is doing well despite the heat.   
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I got the drip system working for the hedge:
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I've been digging out the buried bits of the fence so the buried bits don't rust.
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I dug around the lemon tree in preparation to move it.  I'm waiting and waiting for cooler weather to perform the move.
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I've been trying to root an 'Evelyn' for a garden-buddy for months.  This cutting is the latest failure.  
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Yesterday late in the afternoon it began to actually cool down.  Is our long-predicted relief finally arriving?  I walked around the garden to see what I've been missing.  
'Jude The Obscure' in the late afternoon sun:
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Salvia 'Blue Hill' managed to bloom all summer without stopping.  It will go like this until late October, when it will start to look terrible.  I'll cut it to the ground and it will be back fresh and new to start blooming like crazy again next April.  Wonderful plant.  
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'Moon Dance' has finally gotten established.  It looks happy:
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'Windermere' is as delicately beautiful as usual.  Amazing how it held up to humid heat perfectly.  Dry heat of course ruined the flowers in a couple of hours.
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'Litchfield Angel' has also apparently established itself.  There were a dozen blooms at least, the best it has looked since I moved it a couple of years ago. 
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And there was a white spider hiding in a slightly toasty 'Prospero', waiting for a victim.  White spider, you are better off in 'Moondance' or 'Litchfield Angel'...
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I felt mentally refreshed and no longer grumpy after seeing the roses.   Went back towards the garage, and surprise!
Puppies decided in my absence to ruin another roll of toilet paper.   
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Boris was working on it in his man-cave:
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I took it away from him, and he instantly looked innocent:
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Natasha tried to grab it.
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And so goeth the dregs of summer.
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Puppies.  This (link) says it better than I ever could.   Say goodbye to summer for a while, but never to puppies.  
 

Comments

  1. It must be frustrating indeed to be cooped in the house if you're longing to garden. At least you've been very productive though :)

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  2. I hear you on the heat. Down here in north San Diego county we aren't used to such a prolonged spell of misery. My succulents are burned and the new crop of Fuertes is falling off the trees which are defoliating at an alarming rate. Enough already! Loved the dog link!

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    1. Oddly our Fuerte is having its best year ever. I thought perhaps all the humidity was making it happy. Yes enough already with the heat. We've had our share.

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  3. My goodness, your roses are so fabulous. Mine were a dead loss this year, the weather was all over the place and the black spot took over the planet. I cracked up at the 'innocent' face even after being caught with the roll of TP. Too funny! Love that salvia, wish it were hardy here.

    I hope you finally get some relief from that heat. We had a month or so of 90 to high 90's and it made me very grumpy but nothing like you've had this summer.

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    1. Two days of relative cool, supposed to heat up again tomorrow, grrrr!!

      Roses were bad in spring because of all the late rain, but seem happy enough now. That 'Blue Hill' is from Germany, not hardy for you? Germany pretty cold...

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  4. Wow, I just looked at the past month's climate data and the forecast for the next week in the OC...looks like 97-102 in a few days for a few days! Stay cool...very fall-like here, in fact a bit cooler than our average 80-ish stuff. Yet your roses look divine? But I bet the white furry ones are hating the heat more...

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    1. Unfortunately yes more heat on the way. Enjoy the fall! I have no explanation for the happy roses. Puppies slow down when it's really hot, or splash in the play-pool. They always find a way to make themselves happy. I need to learn that too.

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