Ahhh October

We finally made it through the very long, very hot, very dry summer.  Temperatures have cooled. While some areas in Texas have been seeing some rain, we have only had .1" to enjoy. We were so happy, but then it was gone.

During the last 12 months we have only collected 7.85" rain! This total is about 20 inches short of our average yearly total!

We still have a different vegetable for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

AND we may have lots of peppers soon. We shall see. We shall not give up.

See you soon!

Out of the fryin' pan

Sunday, September 4, we were excited about the approaching break in the weather. The wind was out of the north! After the hottest 3 months on record, we needed some cool. The temperatures topped out about 90 all week, which is cool for us, but what a price! Fires surrounded us! Fueled by the strong winds, they burned out of control for days.

Only 4 miles to the east by the flight of the mockingbird, 23 homes were destroyed by fire. About 22 miles to the west, 67 structures were burnt. And 50 miles to the east, in Bastrop, almost 1,400 homes were lost to the blazes which destroyed 36,000 acres of beautiful Lost Pines forest. 

Next week, the temperatures will again climb to 100. Still no rain is predicted. But things will not be back to normal.

Small Accomplishments

During this very long, very hot, very dry summer, I have especially been aware of small accomplishments.

We added two very small pear trees to the garden months before the summer started. Both trees now have new growth! I call that a miraculous small accomplishment.

The Very Long Very Hot Very Dry Summer

Less than half of the garden is occupied by plants this summer, so we have lots of opportunity to work on the beds. As you can see from this picture, we can locate areas of white chalky limestone soil we call caliche. It is very dense and can be dug out in in chunks and layers. 

The other day, I was digging some caliche and out fell a fossil! It was embedded in the layers and had not been exposed to the air for many years. I looked in my Texas Fossils by William H. Matthews III and found that it is called a Texas Cretaceous Gastropod. It is actually an internal mold of the shell of an animal which was on the ocean floor during the age of dinosaurs.

What is growing in this heat?

We have summer peas. In the row is also a basil which has gone to seed. We have left it as a gift for the goldfinches. They love the seeds!

We have okra! This row is a type we have never grown before. It is Texas Hill Country Red Okra from Seed Savers.

Flowers still bloom occasionally. Besides this Rock Rose, we have Flame Acanthus, Fire Bush, and Turks Cap blooming.

The peppers are very small but the plants seem heat tolerant. This is a Santa Fe Pepper bush. We have also eggplant and tomato plants which have been trimmed back in anticipation of cooler temperatures and rain. 

These bunching onions are growing well. I like to have some young plants to tend. Besides these, we have a few tomatoes still in pots and a row of squash which is hanging in for now.

Scratchy likes it!

It is 100 degrees in the shade today and maybe Scratchy is the ONLY one who likes it!

Scratchy

Our pet cactus, Scratchy, bloomed yesterday. We are so excited about the bloom and the .2" rain which we received the day before. Congratulations, Scratchy!