Today I have one goal, water the garden. It might not sound like much but around here it could take me all day to finish this task.Our heat wave has broken, last night a cool front came through and today should only hit 87 degrees (30.5 celsius). That's still well above normal for us but at least I can work outside for most of the day. While massive storms surged all around us, we got a few gusts of wind and no rain at all. I had hoped for some moisture so I wouldn't have to spend a whole day watering.
Unfortunately, I'm not feeling well. I don't know if it's the accumulation of too many days of heat or the fact that I attended two meetings with meals yesterday and ate food that I don't normally eat. I can barely make myself get up and move, which is highly unusual for me.
When we bought this house 12 years ago it already had an underground sprinkler system installed. We were told it's a "golf course" system. Since I don't golf, I can't say for sure if that is correct. There are "outlets" in the ground spaced quite far apart and I have to "plug in" a large sprinkler head where ever I need the water.We have massive water pressure here and I can run 4 of these heads at a time. But I still need to pay attention to the timer and go out every 1.5 hours and move the heads to different locations.
All the planters require hand watering and since I've potted up lots of tomatoes I will be carrying many watering cans around the yard today. Thankfully my schedule is empty and I can take my time getting this done.
Yesterday I totally missed blogging. I was up at 5:00AM to take my cousin's daughter to the airport. When I got home I had a garden club meeting where we had the most amazing speaker on Feng Shui. I went in expecting to be bored and instead I was fascinated. I had to laugh when I realized I had my compost heap in my Wealth/Power area of our property. I have no intention of moving it though since I consider compost to be black gold. Then I was off all evening at a PTA dinner. No wonder I feel lousy today.Time to go out and start the first set of sprinkler heads. Hopefully I'll get to photographing some flower arrangements today too.
Stay cool,
8 comments:
Such a THRILL to have found your Blog...I am truly amazed with your Gardens and to have SUN to boot...I live in the woods and do quite a bit of Shade Gardening..Oh to have 4 hours of Sun in one area would be such a joy...
I enjoy looking at your photos of your morning walks through your gardens and as myself you take notice of every detail...Who's blooming today, who needs a little extra help...Thanks again for sharing your Gardens Life...
Marilyn
Wow! Watering does sound time-consuming for you. You said you go out every 1.5 hours...you water each area for an hour and a half? Here, in southern CA, in ground sprinkler on timers are the norm, since we aren't blessed with a lot of year round rainfall. Even 98% of my potted plants are on drips, which I love. Any way you could have your sprinkler system converted/replaced to something more automated and less labor intensive?
As always, enjoyed your photos and post. Your garden is lovely!
It's been hot everywhere lately. I don't remember June being this hot. I think we're about 10 degrees warmer than we should be. I've had to water everything for days now. It would be nice to see a couple days of rain soon!
Hi Marilyn, nice to have you visit :-) Thanks for the nice compliments.
Lin, it would cost a small fortune to replace our system here. The advantage to it is that each head waters a 50' wide area. They go slowly in a circle so it takes an hour and a half to put down one inch of water.
Dave, if you see some rain, send it here when you are finished with it. Of course, there's people in the country who are flooded as we wish for some more rain.
Melanie,
I am dragging the hose around, too. It has been unbearably hot until last night when we had a bit of cooling. I have my watering system down pat but decided to let the sprinklers run a bit longer with water sucking trees (I love the trees) taking up so much of it; I have to make sure the soil gets a decent soaking. Sorry, I am posting on your post!
Your garden still looks fabulous and continues to be an inspiration to me.
gail
What a relief to get a break from that heat. I don't envy all your watering. This year we haven't had to water - I just feel lucky we haven't had to resort to sandbags. How apt that your compost bin is in your Wealth/Power area as a garden is only as good as its soil.
Melanie, doesn't the cooler air feel nice. We got those storms through here last night. We lost a couple trees out back, one fell on the chicken coop. No damage, but it covered almost the whole thing. We did get some rain with the storm also, which is so nice.
What a mega-watering system you have. I rarely water here, but I'm sure I probably should on occasion.
Sounds like irrigating on the ranch...LOL I have sprinklers on timers here. Its easier to manage that way. Besides I am forgetful so I would probably leave them on and forget to change them. It rarely rains here in the summer. Mostly hot and dry. Lately we have been so lucky with temps in the 80's- mid 90's but that will change this weekend when the temps are suppose to be in the 100's. I hope you feel better. I probably is the heat. That always wears me out. Drink lots of water and get some rest!!!
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