Back from INSANITY to GARDENING!

OK! I answered my own question, it's not possible to do everything you would like to do and still be sane. Sometimes, good intentions are not enough, which I truly had plenty of. Life just sort of gets in the way, and unfortunately, there are circumstances beyond our control - like the weather. It was not hot down here this year, it was H O T !!! Between the raging temperatures, and soaring humidity, it had all of us thinking about moving to the North Pole or Antarctica, anywhere cooler! Being transplants to the Southern States, I guess we just could not appreciate the hot and steamy weather. We didn't feel so bad, though, when alot of local people native to the area, also complained about the heat. In addition, when we would look at the evening news, we realized that this was just an unusual year. It was really hot in alot of places, throughout the U.S., and even in parts of Europe where it is traditionally cooler. I guess misery really does like company, because that made us feel better. I say all of this to say that the weather wreaked havoc on our garden this year!

There were so many days that we wanted to go out and water the badly dehydrated garden, but it was TOO hot. Don't get me wrong, we were very concerned about the wonderful vegetables, fruits, and flowers - tomatoes, beans, squash, cantaloupes, watermelons, okra, figs, marigolds, and more - growing out there; but, we valued the life and safety of us and the puppies more. It was all we could do, after the normal everyday activities of life, to keep ourselves and the puppies ( they are cuter than ever, of course, my opinion is biased) cool and hydrated. We hope to install some type of irrigation system, so we won't have the same problem next year. Yet, everything was not a total loss. We did manage to get some tomatoes. Also, some of out plants seemed to thrive in the hot weather - like the okra, figs, Chinese long beans, and cantaloupes ( but they wre lacking in a nice sweet taste). And even under the severe conditions, it was a pleasure to see something determined to grow despite the elements. Even in the plant world, when the going gets rough, the tough keep growing. That's food for thought, for the rest of us earthly beings.

Some of the things that we have enjoyed seeing grow this summer: