Dateline: July 15, 2011, Guthrie, Oklahoma. Hot, hot and more hot. Extreme drought conditions. Death Orb pulsating in the sky day after day. Gardeners in Oklahoma reported spotty showers in and around the state. A smidge of rain fell on the Red Dirt Ranch, but no accumulation was recorded. The only creatures happy with these conditions are the mighty grasshoppers eating their way through the entire patch with perennial hibiscus being their favorite delicacy. There will be not photos of this decimation. It is just too sad. In spite of heat and other life issues, the gardener expects visitors to descend upon the garden Saturday morning. She is reportedly glad for the distraction, and it has given her an excuse to weed. In the meantime, here are a few bloomers to light her visitors' way. None of this would be possible without drip irrigation four times a week. It has...

I took this first photo from the bottom of the hill. Then, I walked up the hill and took it with the sunlight shining from behind. Doesn't even look like the same grass does it? That's one of the many things which makes gardening and photography so interesting. If anyone knows what cultivar this might be, please comment below. Thanks.

This summer is taking its toll on south central gardeners especially in parts of Texas and all of Oklahoma except the southeast which has rain like Arkansas. So, what does a gardener do when jealous? Accuse them of conspiring with the weather? No, I don't think so. Here in Guthrie-land, we got a wee shower Thursday night, so wee it didn't even show up on the rain gauge. We've had over 100F temperatures twenty days this summer so far. To say I'm cranky is putting it far too mildly.  That, and a difficult work week are making me feel as though I've lost my mojo. Bill assures me I haven't. For once, even the weather folks don't look excited about breaking records. They are talking as though this summer will be worse than 1980, the hottest summer in Oklahoma on record with fifty over 100F days. Just so you know,...

I don't know how things are in your neck of the woods weather wise . . . . I had to turn off the news after the fifty-thousandth day of coverage on Casey Anthony. Triple ugh. And, yes, this is exactly how I think and talk. I'm married to a man with an engineering mind, and have two children wired the same way. Imagine how hard it is to understand one another sometimes. But, back to the weather. As Bill would say, "It hotter and drier than a popcorn fart." Anyhoo . . . right now I wish I were anywhere north of here. It is HOT! All of June, we kept hearing "Today's temperatures will be over 100F," That's just wrong. We don't usually get this kind of weather until mid-July and then into August. Instead, 2011 has been all about century temperatures and little to no rain. Oklahoma...