In The Mist

We've finally hit a patch of rainy weather.  

Well, mist actually.  

Maybe some heavier drizzle from time to time. 

Unfortunately, it's misted every day this weekend so no outdoor fun occurred around here.

In fact, another storm system is supposed to push out the drizzly clouds that's been sitting on top of us in favor of some honest to goodness rain.

It's forecast to rain everyday this week.
Can't imagine how tall the grass will be by the time we can finally mow it.
I might need to borrow a goat or two.

This flowering vine has taken off and is crawling all over the deck.  I cut it back a bit but it's going bananas with the rain.

SM calls it a Hummingbird Vine. 

I don't know if that's the true name of it but most days we see a small male hummingbird flit around the flowers.

Even in the misty rain.

Dry and Drying

No kidding...but it's been dry here.  Fall is usually our driest season and with little to no rain this Summer, the lawn has finally reached the crispy stage.  

We've been mowing once a week up until now but moving forward, I think we'll catch a break on that at least.  

I noticed our neighbor de-thatching his lawn and raising up a dust storm while doing it.  This is the season for over seeding the lawn around here.  Hard to believe anyone would want to be chained to twice daily watering but there you have it.

Even I've vetoed a Fall garden because of the dry spell.  Who wants to have to baby a garden space like that?  I've even passed on planting Mums and Pansies. 

I must say it been rather pretty outside.  
Cool mornings, warm to hot afternoons. 

Zinnia production is way down right now so I've taken to saving the flower heads and drying them for a seed save.  I've planted them in the same spot for years and can't seem to get them to re-seed year over year on their own.

I'll try saving this batch and planting them in a different spot and see if I can get them to grow.

SM has been out enjoying his Man-Cave.  Football season in high gear!

 


What's Fall like in your backyard?
 
 

Beauty And The Beast

Sorry for the silence on the blog.  
Everything's fine.

It's just that August wiped me out heat-wise.  And humidity-wise.

If you enjoy breathing through a hot, wet washcloth then Charlotte, North Carolina is the place for you to be in August.

So I went into blah mode.  
At least from a creative writing perspective that is.

Life still chugs along but it's been mostly work related activities that have occupied my time.  (I've got new Tech to learn this month (Online Training) and Clinical's start next month so it will be a busy Fall.)

So...Lets wrap up the Summer Garden of 2015, shall we?

August could best be described as The Beauty and The Beast month. 

We had tons of butterflies in the Zinnia patch.

It's been a hot summer and very dry so everything died off early.  I'd been accumulating cardboard in my trunk to lay in the beds so one day I asked SM to help me clear out the dead vines.

And that's when we found The Beast(s).

While I was fascinated with the masses of squash bugs we found hiding under all the dead vines, I was also freaked out and pissed off that they were there.

So I looked up how to eradicate them and dragged the Shop Vac out to the garden, filled it with few inches of soap water and proceeded to vacuum my garden.  (I'm sure the neighbors had a good laugh.) 

Word got out as I sucked those bastards up and suddenly the ground and fence posts were in motion with the Evacuation of the Squash bug.

Eww!

I will say the Shop Vac/soapy water combination worked beautifully.  I went out the next day to inspect the garden and there wasn't a squash bug in sight.  

I have no idea where they went but suspect I'll be invaded with them next year.  Sigh.

In other news, SM is in full football mode now and has set up his Man Cave on the back porch.  We've purchased a small TV that we take in and out as needed.  SM also bought a swivel rocker that was on sale and hung some cord lighting around the edge of the deck roof.  

It's pretty sweet back there although with the heat I'm like a butterfly myself fluttering in and out.

I'm sitting outside now as I write this.  Believe it or not...It's 57 degrees out this morning.

Yeah me!  Fall is FINALLY on it's way!  
One more week of upper 80's and then I'll be in my favorite season of all.