Damn Hot
Everyone is so tired of this miserable heat and dry weather. I just can't imagine what it is like for those poor Texans. We're setting record highs regularly, and even a record all time high for Ft. Smith of 115 (tied it in Fayetteville, 110). This picture was Saturday afternoon. I was using the mercury thermometer to verify that the two outdoor thermometers were actually correct. They were. But this one on the garage registers higher in the heat of the afternoon than the one on the porch (it was only showing 102 at the time), but lower in the morning. I think heat off the gutter and tin roof are affecting it, so I moved it lower on a different post. I think the concrete of the porch is keeping the overnight temperature a bit higher on the porch. That's my theory anyway.
Mulch
I had picked up a load of mulch from the city and brought it out to spread under the trees. Practically all of it went under the two pears and the two apples. The rest made small rings around my baby trees out front. I could easily use another load. I like it under the trees because it helps keep the soil cooler, retains moisture, and keeps it loose so that when the weeds do grow there they are easier to pull up. I also brought out two old soaker hoses with plans to cut them in two and bury them in the much under the pears and apples. But I didn't have the right hose end connectors, so that has to wait until next weekend.
Water
Other than spreading the mulch, the only other thing I got done was watering everything -- several hours Friday and several more Saturday (why I want to use soaker hoses). We desperately need rain, and you can tell it everywhere. The squash was really dropping when I arrived, so I put some water on it first thing. Then it was droppy again Saturday morning. I watered it heavily Saturday, thinking maybe I had rushed it the day before. It perked up. Then in the afternoon it was dropping again. That's when I looked at the thermometer and realized just how hot it was, and that no amount of water was going to help. On Sally's instruction I did pick three of the butternuts (I counted over 30 more), the orange bell pepper that had turned, and more chard (that stuff is amazing). Given the price of butternut squash at ONF of $2.59/lb and an average of 2 pounds per squash, we have over $150 worth of squash in the garden!
Roadrunner
While watering the garden, a roadrunner appeared on the other side of the fence. He was big and quite colorful with a cute crest on top of his head. I've rarely seen them this close. He ran back and forth a couple of times and then disappeared down the hill. (I really don't know if it was a he or she.)
Blue Birds
The babies were all gone. I am presuming they grew and flew off, and that nothing got them. Perhaps that is just wishful thinking. It was interesting to find this baby snake all dried up and stuck between the nest and the door. Another presumption would be that it was intended as food for the babies but got misplaced, or maybe was too big for them.
Apples
We only had three apples this year. Had! Now we only have 1. It looked to me like deer pulled two off and bit on them but decided they were too green. They also ate some of the leaves and broke some limbs. I decided to go ahead and prune out a couple of limbs that were still green and growing, but had severe damage (hail or scuffed badly some time back) and looked like would not survive long term. Partly because they were trying to put on new leaves -- let that energy go to part of the tree that has a better chance of long term survival.
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