Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Dog days of August...



Already things have that 'fallish' feeling, warm days, cool nights... some leaves already fallen and crisp when you step on them, crickets chirping and giant Dragonflies flitting about... the good thing is i've not seen any wooly bears yet, they are a signal of impending autumn.. and always a childs delight at they creepy crawl across their hands, only to curl in a ball when frightened..

my garden was having a bit of a break with the cooler weather, but unfortunately the temperature popped back up.. the fortunate part is the days are getting shorter so it's not doing quite as much damage, and the garden isn't drying out as quickly...
our unusual heat spell really did a lot of damage, so many trees have died from the lack of water and many more have been distressed severely, their leaves have shrivelled, turned brown and fallen... my poor little fruit trees have done okay, but only because i packed water to them.. not a lot of water but enough to keep them from wilting and drying up entirely... all the fruit i had on them fell off, not such a bad thing because they are young and a few years of no fruit will allow them to establish and grow longer taproots.... two of my cherry trees didn't make it.. within the first year, their leaves shrivelled, turned brown, the branches crisped and that was it... i was so upset because none of the other trees were dying, only two cherry trees... later i found out that often the nurseries will 'dig' up the young trees and cut off the taproot too short... and apparently cherry trees need a longer one in order to survive.... anyways in place of the two cherry trees are two Quince trees... two different varieties.. this was their first summer with me and are looking pretty good! they were covered in blooms and i'd hoped for at least 1 fruit but alas they all fell off with the heat... no matter... i can't wait until they get big enough to produce some fruit and then i can 'produce' some Quince preserve and or jelly!!

i'm going to Oregon for a few days.. so my garden will be left alone.....the temp is supposed to drop much lower and daughter will water a couple of times for me... i'll pick all the ripe tomatoes and beans and give her the cucumber that's waiting for a 'home' and the zucchini i think will be large but usable when i get back...i planted the wee fall lettuce and kale, hopefully they'll do okay while i'm gone... its a bit like leaving your children, can't wait to go but worry something will happen...i'm not sure of my internet down there, so if able to, i'll post, if not.. see you when i get back.. cool winds, lots of beach, the smell of the ocean.. ahhh can't wait!