It was down in the mid 90's this afternoon, such a relief after weeks [months?] of temps between 105 and 115.
{Look at the salt residue - that's the water around here}
Got out there to do some basic chores. Added compost that had been sitting in the wheelbarrow waiting for a while... well on its way to being processed, that. *phew* Watered and spun the compost bin. That's an act that's really easiest with two people. Doing it solo requires some dexterity in reach and pull. I'll feel it tomorrow.
{Sun scorched and salt speckled. With a dead stick I missed pulling. oops. And some shredded paper I've been using as mulch - the birds like to kick it out of the pots. And the endless eucalyptus leaf drop from the tree next door. What a mess.}
Topped off some pots with finished compost. Wandered around with the camera, taking a few pics. Trimmed dead bits off things. Witnessed the dead, administered some last rites. After the long oven, things are really looking peaked.
Summer never really seems to end around here. The weather will now be summery until mid October, when it will cool down again to comfortable temps.
On the brighter side, this Benjamin Ficus that I brought all the way from Michigan is putting out new growth. I had it in a sunny south window up north. It got great sun in the winter time. Down here, we have a south window, but by some quirk of the angle of the house, the plant never gets direct sun. It's been slowly fading. I've had it since it was a twig of a cutting, and I love this plant.
So I'm really glad to see it's sending out new growth all over the place. Hope, yet. Hope. Still a good thing.
[Photo taken May, 2009]
I've been trying to adjust to gardening in the desert, but the cycles are so alien - I keep missing the important plant dates, and feel like I am constantly fighting the climate - oh, wait, I AM constantly fighting the climate.
I could be savvy and plant only native plants, and take the brown, blown-out look of the summer months as due course. Others do this, and their gardens are beautiful. Even in summer. It's a local look that can be achieved with the right plants and a bit of design work.
But I'm too much the Midwestern garden girl, and I crave the greens of the heartland. I'm trying to find plants that take the heat and dry and, with some applied water, stay green and lush, but it's a battle.
I get actively angry when I go in to the local garden centers, and they are showing plants that can only survive here on a constant drip feed of water. I'm just not going there, and nobody else should be, either. It's going to be a very rude awakening when the valley finally has to ration water. Too many people here are just too damn complacent that their water supply won't be threatened. Huh. Really?
Top that with our monsoon season being exceptionally stingy with the rain, and I'm down in the dumps.
Went to La Jolla on a job. Had some time before I was due back at the airport, so I sat on the greensward of this little bay, feeling the sea breeze in my hair and watching the water sparkle.
Lovely day.
