And So It Continues

The extreme heat and lack of rain continue unabated. The St Louis area is has been upgraded to an extreme drought status. We continue to water the veggies and some of the flowers religiously. But it is too hot to do much of anything else. A lot of folks yards are starting to look like it's Fall with all the dead leaves piling up under the trees. Even the weeds are starting to  dry up and die off (Yes! there is a silver lining!).

Since it's just too depressing to take photos right now, I thought I'd share some things I found on the web.

Check out these gardens designed for dogs: http://realestate.msn.com/dog-friendly-gardens-think-like-a-canine#scptit

And here's an article about raising veggies and chickens and bees in small spaces: http://www.english.rfi.fr/france/20120710-chicken-balcony-tomatoes-roof-france-discovers-urban-agriculture

Hopefully we'll get some rain this week! 

Zombie Apocalypse

Zombies have taken over.  Okay, they're really not zombies, they are just weeds, but they sure have taken over.  

I work nights, so early mornings are reserved for sleeping at our house. The scorching temperatures and lack of rain here in the midwest have taken a real toll on the yard. And, since ninty-five degrees is the upper limit of what I will tolerate for spending time outdoors, not much has been done out there for the last few weeks. All the grass is dead.  Only the plants that we water daily continue to survive.  And, the weeds. Some of them have gotten to be head high. I fail to understand how most green things keel over and yet these insidious invaders seem to thrive - just like zombies rising from the dead.

Can you find Scout hiding in the weeds?

Do you see Ranger?  He's not even trying to hide! He just blends in with the brown grass.

There's quite the oasis around where Jeff waters his tomatoes.

The blue at the bottom of this picture used to be the puppy pool, but the dogs have decided they prefer air conditioning to wading in warm water.

The Results of One Rainstorm

We finally got had a nasty thunderstorm come through just after dark several days ago.   We've been having extreme heat and no moisture for a record breaking length of time. While the rain did nothing for the grass on the lawn, the weeds sprang up almost violently the next day.  And, on the bright side, some of the flowers are making a comeback.  In addition, Jeff's multiple trips to irrigate the veggies have paid off. We're harvesting tomatoes, onions and cucumbers.  The lettuce continues to grow - it is in shade most of the day now. And Jeff says we'll have bell peppers some time next week.  The carrots still need a bit more time, but thier greens have really taken off since the rains came.