I am so tired of this hot, rainless weather. My plants are looking so bad.

Come on fall!

I hope your plants make it!
faye

Caroline, I'm so sorry to hear of your heat index but the crab and shrimp boil sound good. : ) Wish I were nearby to help you out with the watering. Have you thought about a couple of sprinklers at the end of hoses that can be put on a timer? Those portable timers are reasonably priced and last a long time, plus they can be used for other purposes (turning lights on/off when on vacation). We have some that are at least 20 years old and still work.

We have had below norm temps for over a month, barely making it to eighty. And very little rain but that's typical for So.Cal since most of our rain falls between Oct. and May. We are supposed to heat up this weekend. I'm looking forward to it -- I could have worn a light jacket outside last night.

I hope you get some relief soon. If not, at least you have that beautiful pool to cool off in. : )

Diana

We are having 101 degree index. The humidity is at 98%. It's worse than a sauna outside. I to have been watering flowers 2 a day for a week. No rain in sight for anther week. Looks like we in the South will all be happy for Fall/Winter. Good luck with the flowers

110, I don't know how you exist in that kind of heat, my son retired Navy did two tours in the Persian Gulf, he was there during the summer the first time, he said they managed to keep it around 70 below decks but above you could hardly catch your breath. I can't take it when it hits 80, I just don't know how you guys stand it, let along garden. My hat's off to you all.

Annette

Well, for one thing, Annette...DON'T take off your hat! You'll sunburn your head and ears for sure!

Most of us who try to garden here in the deep south do whatever needs to be done outdoors very early in the a.m. Of course, when dh and I got up yesterday morning at 5:30 it was already 79. During the hottest part of the day in this weather you really are courting heatstroke if you try to do physical labor outside.

Yep Linda is right it was 88 last night at 10 PM !!!!!! It is a must to get out early. I run at 4:30 AM for that reason.

Annette you are lucky to be having such clemate weather. It isn't as bad as the PG , your son deserves a giant thank you for serving. My oldest DH was a Marine, he is the chef son now.

deedee: thank you ,I can relate to your humidity too. It is stifling out. Thunder that has no result is what we are having this PM.

Diana you are so sweet..you are invited to the "boil". That pool isn't very refreshing I can tell you. I don't know about timers for the water...I have the indoor kind for lights etc. I am planning on the soaker hose route for next year if we have drought again. I will just tough it out this year.

faye: good luck in Montg. I hope we get relief soon. The leaves are all starting to fall off the trees so it maynot be a very pretty fall but it will be cooler.

I hope the mountains are a little cooler. I'll let you know when I get back. Caroline

I'm further north than Caroline or Linda but we have the same Africa hot weather here and the humidity as well. I'm thanking God for the rain we got last night, we needed it sooooooo bad. Tomorrow is forcast to be another scorcher with Wednesday being the worse of the week with 100+ temp so I can only imagine what the heat index will be. We watch the 3yr old grandson 3 days a week and he'd love to be outside playing but no way in this heat. Was it this hot when we used to play outside and come in to no A/C? Oops, guess I'm giving my age away, lol. I'll be thinking about all my fellow southeastern cottage friends during these dog days of summer and praying that we soon get some relief.
Vikki

Caroline, there are timers (not terribly expensive) that you can install that will set off sprinklers at the times you choose. We used to have them - since replaced with ones you turn on and then they turn themselves off...cause we are here now. Or, at least, dh is here - retired, you know?

Go on over to HD or Lowes and ask about 'em. It's worth a little scout. I'd hate for you to lose your plants. That's not fun.

Oh how miserable Caroline. I'd being throwing some ice cubes in that swimming pool. I feel so bad for everyone dealing with this drought. I hope you get some relief soon. I hate to even think this out loud, but a healthy slow-moving tropical depression from the Gulf would help things out. Now Lord, I'm not talking about a Hurricane here, just to be on the record. Just a good soaker for my friend Caroline. I'd be much obliged.

Steven

we are getting our usual summer heat and humidity, and are happy that the summer rains gave finally come! Our area has been in a 7-year drought, which has finally abated and we are getting out afternoon t-storms nearly every day, as usual. Nice for the garden, but tough on the gardener!!

We are in a moderate drought here in NW Michigan, but thankfully without the brutal heat you suffering folks have in the south. The farm crops and unwatered lawns are having a rough time here, but my veggie and sunflower patches are doing fine, thanks to a drip irrigation system that I set up this spring. I run it for three hours every other day, and it keeps everything happy and growing, even though between the rows is dry and dusty. I heartily recommend it for ease of use (once it's set up) and conservation of water.

Wishing y'all rain and cooler temps -- sounds like heaven, right?

ThinMan

Steven - don't be afraid to wish us here in the southeast some sort of tropical system. We are doing the same thing. Our weathermen say that is what we need to break this drought. None of us want anything 'hurricane' strength but a good slow moving soaker full of tropical moisture would be VERY welcomed by all.

I am ready to pull alot of the summer annuals out and just call this season done with. My main focus in the garden right now is keeping perennials and shrubs alive. I do have some fall and winter things started - ornamental cabbage/kale, Bright Lights Swiss Chard, snapdragons. I will need to replace most of my dianthus this year for winter bloom. It has been a tough season but I feel more for the farmers who depend on a crop for their income

Our Heat Index hit 108 yesterday with a possible 110+ today - keep cool everyone....

Lynne

Lynne, I'm feeling the same as you. In fact I don't think we're too far from each other. I walked the garden this morning and made a mental list of all that needs pulled. Now it just needs to cool off enough for me to go out there & start ripping.

I haven't even begun my fall sowing yet. I've decided to wait until the end of August.

We are just now getting into the triple digit temperatures, which is very unusual for us. All the rain and cloud cover this summer resulted in some mild temperatures, up til now.

I was watching my next door neighbor dump ice into her pool yesterday. Yup..the temperatures are soaring! :-)

Caroline, you may be surprised at how well your garden copes. Much of my garden falls into dormancy during the heat and then revives in the fall when the temperature cools. So many things that I had thought were dead did come back, so hang in there!

Diana, Your weather sounds perfect! I'm jealous.

Stay cool and stay safe, everyone!

Marilyn

Ice in the pool would be OK but ..well...it would take A LOT..25 thousand gallons is a lot of water to cool LOL>

Mr Morton's drip combined with the timers ya'll have suggested I think are the order of the day.

I am glad lots of youare getting relief and THANK YOU for the great thoughts you are sending our way. They say that the next 3 days will be the hottest ever...I think the Cheaha State Park will be hot too but there is a great waterfall ..if it still has water...and yes I am taking the camera. Will see about pics for my friends.

You can believe that even with all my family in New Orleans I am still praying for the tropical depressions. Nothing too big mind you but still...

Have a great week and stay COOL. See you guys FRIDAY. Caroline...out the door with my trail shoes and my mountain bike. YEAH !!

Caroline ~ I know just how you feel. We've had the heat index up to 110 also, and this week it is in the low 100's. It feels like August here that is for sure. We still have Septemter to go through and that can be pretty brutal as well. I hope you get some rain soon.

FlowerLady

If anyone is interested, I just found this very comprehensive weather site; much more detail than weather.com. I'm a compulsive weather watcher, especially when looking for rain. Just put in your ZIP code.

I hope you all get a break from this debilitating weather soon. We don't have near the heat or humidity of the south, but it can get beastly at times :-( I've watered very frugally, but I get concerned because we are on a well and if push comes to shove, we would need it more in the house than the garden. How do you with wells deal with the lack of rain?

Here is a link that might be useful: NOAA weather site

Um...That would be Thinmans drip, not mine. I am certainly not one to take credit for others folks accomplishments.
It has been pretty nasty around here lately, too. Temps in the 90s with total humidity and heat indexes over a 100. Yick. Up till a week or so ago we've actually had a really nice summer, weather-wise. I'll just chalk this recent stuff up to August arriving.
Most of my annuals still look fine, but a few appear to have given up.
We've been getting sporadic thunderstorms for the past week. A good amount of rain, actually. Some parts of Northern Ill. have been flooding. We are fortunate to just be getting the outskirts of it.
Good luck, everyone.

Our Heat Index is 118 right now with the heat of the day still to come. It is so completely unbearable to even think about being outside. While I am able to stay inside my home in the AC and gripe and complain, my heart just goes out to all those who HAVE to work outside in this heat - even more so for our servicemen/women overseas - God Bless Them........

Lynne

I just walked outside to get the mail and couldn't believe how the garden has just WILTED since morning. My poor greyhound, Charm (Won By Her Wits), just laid down as she couldn't take the heat. I thought I was going to have to carry her inside and we were out there less than 5 minutes. Our pool is covered up as it's awaiting the construction crew to finish the deck around it, so it's not doing us any good. The crew can't work in this heat, either.

Take care everyone.
Cameron

On my computer I listen to a 1940's Big Band Swing radio station in Ohio. I hear the weather broadcast on that station everday. Several times the station has had emergency broadcast alerts. That gave me quite a scare, I almost ran home to check on my dogs forgetting I'm in California and not Ohio. OMGoodness..severe storms, record heat, hail size of pennies and that horrible humidity! My heart goes out to you all.

It's been darn right chilly here. What I would give for a little heat.

Edna

I feel for you guys, really! It is so chilly here, hubby asked if he should turn on the furnace for a while.

I wore a turtle neck and a sweater to the shop downtown this afternoon!

62 or 63 here right now......burrrrr......

Leasa

Suppose to be a warm and sunny day tomorrow, I sure hope so!

Leasa, you lucky duck! 60s would be heavenly right now!!!

One of these times I'll get it right, DH just corrected me, apparently they managed to keep the temperature at 80 not 70 on DS's ship when all the hatches were battened down and the air conditioners were going full tilt. The one good thing about the whole thing is, a lot quit smoking while there, it was hard enough breathing on deck never mind inhaling. I'm wishing cool breezes and life giving rain to all that are suffering from this extreme heat. It's been on our T.V. news the last few days how bad it is for those living in the south. Please stay safe my friends.

Annette

Sorry Mr Morton...I wasn't being careful when I back through posts.

We just got back from the mountains 1 1/2 hr north of here. It is even hotter there than here. Hard to believe. 102 today and a heat index of 115. All my plants survived with shading of some and soaking of others and tending by DSs of others. I have watered and will cont. to hope we all get a reprieve. I posted photos on the gallery of the trip. Caroline

Caroline,

I thought you might be pleasantly surprised at how hardy our gardens are! I'm happy you had such a nice surprise when you got home.

Fortunately the humidity has dropped a bit which makes it more bearable here. I hope this is the case for everyone else experiencing the heat.

I expect to see my neighbors dumping more ice into their pool this weekend. :-) Their pool has an attached spa and waterfall so they are trying to cool a huge amount of water!

Have you noticed how warm the water is coming out of the cold water tap? I know it's summer when that happens.

Marilyn

Today the heat (without an index) was rating 115 when I got to work. After half an hour (I also had to walk to work, maybe 1/4 mile) I was throwing up. Had to go home, that's how bad it was. Sheesh, and I didn't even do anything physical besides walk! How on earth people worked in this heat today is beyond me. We shut down operations on the renovation here as the house does not have any systems running, it is too hot to work in. And some folks still don't have air conditioning here.
My friend Kim is completely physically disabled and lives with her uncle who had a biopsy today, and her cousin who is developmentally handicapped. I'm sure they are miserable!

GGG

My neighbor brought a friend over who visited from Canada to show her my garden. Most of the plants looked fried, and the rest of them wilted... It was a sorry picture compared to what it looked like few weeks back. Oh well, what can we do?
~Natalie

GGG, I'm worried about you. Y'all told me to take it easy...now you do that, too!

GGG, I second everyone's advice here - do be careful with yourself! A heat wave is a dangerous thing. We have alerts about it all the time on TV when we are in the middle of one (which is quite often) and they keep warning about avoiding strenuous exercise or simply being out at all. You should not be working outside in such heat, not even walking. Please do be careful. Lots of people die due to complications brought up by heat stroke. Worried about you all under extreme conditions!

Eduarda

GGG,
Were you under an ozone alert, too? Maybe that also contributed to you not feeling well. Unfortunately, I always feel it when we are under one.

We're under one today where the air is "unhealthy for everone". (This means that everyone is to limit, or eliminate, any kind of outdoor activity because of the air quality.) YUK! :-(

Hope you are feeling better!

Marilyn

Friday the smog wasn't so bad here, so I don't think we had the ozone alert yesterday. I don't find that as much of a problem as we had in Toronto, where a huge giant hole in the ozone sits.
Today it's humidity. Woke up this AM, wasn't too bad out but thank goodness someone drove me home from church. You can cut the air with a knife. Wish that meant rain...

GGG