This summer sucks!

It's official--I don't like summer--at least not this summer anyway. 


With temperatures hovering well into the triple digits for days--as high as 114º yesterday--things are looking pretty grim around here. Most of my plants are dead; only one or two flowers remain close to the porch. That is only because I water them. Even my house plants on the shaded front porch are suffering even though I water at least every other day. There will be no fresh tomatoes to can this year--at least not from my garden. I am beginning to feel like a shut-in because it is just too hot to go outside. 


Thank goodness for Netflix. We have taken to watching movies during hot afternoons or evenings. 

The weather has taken its toll on the wildlife as well. Deer have actually come onto the front porch to eat my flowers. That may not be weather related--it might just have to do with the rascals thinking they can get away with gourmet dining at my expense. They already ate a hibiscus and newly-planted crab apple tree. 


Their behavior does seem rather odd, however. For a time they were here every day. There was a buck, a doe, and two fawns. I haven't seen any of them lately. I'm sure they abandoned our desert landscape in favor of river or lakeside property. And who can blame them? 


The hummingbirds which generally flurry from flower to flower and to the sugar-water feeders we keep on the porch, are now just sitting listlessly on the feeder, their long beaks parted. It is so sad. This morning while watering my plants, I found one had died in a pot of coleus. Just yesterday I saw her perched on that pot. 


We have tried to keep the bird bath full and cool.


I have always been fond of the rain, which is now so scarce. The drought is getting very serious. The last nice rain we had was in June. I can barely remember the dance of the raindrops and gentle sounds, not to mention the smell of it. Chanel No. 5 has nothing on the scent of rain in the woods.


There has been some rain in the area; showers and some storms have popped up on radar images. And we did get a few drops the other night, but it was hardly enough to wet the sidewalk. The clouds seem to form close by only to go some place else to release their precious moisture. Instead, the outdoors now smells like a newly-mown hay field--which is in reality just dying Bermuda grass. It is hard to believe that we enjoyed 11 straight days of rain yielding more than 30 inches just a few months ago. 


As August marches on, there will be more moderate temperatures, at least for a little while. It won't be long before I harangue about how cold it is outside and how I feel like a recluse again. Funny how that works?


It isn't just the weather that promises annoyance. During this respite from the out of doors, the news was all about our country's political divide and lack of compromise among the nation's leaders. During the winter months, we can look forward to the 2012 campaign season which promises to highlight perhaps a greater political divide.


Yes, thank goodness for Netflix.