Oh, Nik! 97 in early May? That does sound wrong. I hope it's only a wave and passes as it came. Stay cool and bring some bouquets into the house! Carol

Sounds awful: you have my sympathies! We're a year into drought as well, though recent rain means that at least we won't have to water for a week or two. And temperatures are forecast to remain May-mild, thank goodness. At the moment the sky is blessedly gray.

I don't like the sound of that, Nik. Some times all you can do is scream. I'd suggest a cool drink. I hope your roses can have one too.

O, boy! My sympathies! I HATE that ! Luckily this year it's cool here, and we've been getting rain. But in the past we have had years when it did that,and it is indeed awful.

When this news reaches us here, the British will be booking their holidays to Greece...in droves...

You have my sympathies though... mid 80's is enough for me...

It officially rose to 93 degrees F here last Wednesday (thermometer said 95 in my yard) and blasted some open blooms (especially the Chinas), but fortunately it was part of only a 3-day heat wave -- now back to moderate temperatures. It has been as high as 101 on that date in the past, according to the records -- never too early for a heat wave for us! The drought on top of those high temps will make it harder on your roses, though, Nik.

Shades of southern California! I would hate for anyone else to have to go through years of drought, and I hope this will be short-lived. We had an inch of rain yesterday, totally unheard-of at this time of the year, so the weather patterns are becoming very unpredictable. Hopefully that means you'll also have cooler temperatures and rain at some time in your future.

Its been hot and dry in Florida and up to 96F this week. Definitely feel summer creeping on here.

Just reading about these temps made me get up to go fix some iced coffee. It's still a bit early in the day to be starting in on the "hard stuff" (i.e., coffee ice cream)...

Stay cool, y'all.

Virginia

Virginia I am very glad to hear that things seem to be looking up for you. Get well soon,and best wishes!

Very glad to hear your good news, Virginia!

Delighted to read of better news from you Virginia... we keep our fingers crossed...

Wow. The temperatures you all are talking about are reminding me to be thankful for the moderate weather here in Washington!

So thrilled to hear about your good news, Virginia; your situation has been weighing on me with every posting from you, but this makes me feel so much more optimistic. So very glad for you.

Virginia, congratulations, and I hope you continue to do well!

Great to hear the good news, Virginia! I'm trying to stay away from the coffee ice cream too.

Thanks, all, for sharing in my relief. I know many of you have been concerned about my status, so wanted to update y'all that I seem to be in a much better place than I was expecting to be. I appreciate the concern and support you've shown me throughout.

Love,

Virginia

PS. Let's have some more weather posts, eh? It does help to 'vent' about weather. In my case, the weather has been delightful, but I'm not allowed to get out and do nearly as much as I'd like to do. By the time I'm allowed to lift anything heavier than 10 lbs, or do anything remotely strenuous, the summer heat and mosquitoes will be in full swing, and I won't want to lift anything heavier than a glass of iced coffee. And then I'll have more chemo, probably, but I hope to be done with all that by the time cool fall weather rolls around...

Yesterday we had the loveliest weather: mild and pellucid, to borrow a poetic word, a lustrous day. I was out pulling nettles down in the bottom of the garden, which doesn't sound attractive, but the once-flowering old roses that kept me company there are well into bloom and glorious, and the grass and trees are lush. Italy isn't Paradise, but on days like this you think it could be. We got two inches of rain recently, which makes May the wettest month I've seen since at least November. But we need much more than that to make up for the year-long drought (a foot of water would make a difference). So that sword is still suspended over our heads. There's a forecast of rain for tomorrow evening: I stay hopeful.

We had a slight frost last night, down to 32F in places... I put frost covers on some plants, but had to remove them sharpish this morning as it's warmed up quickly. Fortunately our night temps will be moving up to 50F soon, so all my roses will come out... Still no rain which bothers so many of us gardeners here, but trifling compared to so many other regions of the world...

Virginia,

I'm pleased to hear the good news about your
illness. Keep the spirit up! As I've said, I'm under chemical androgen
depletion therapy which will last until fall and I'm currently
undergoing daily radiation treatment which should be over by June the
20th. Neither me nor my doctors will be able to know if all this was
successful until sometime in late summer. Moodwise I have my good days
and my bad days and I'm currently under prescribed citalopram medication, which also helps with my hot flashes due to my hormone therapy (older ladies should know what I mean..)
but other than that I'm feeling ok...

Nik, I hope the meds are helping with the hot flashes; not fun at any time, but especially not when temps are in the 90'sF. I'm hoping for more good mood days than bad ones, of course... it will help you physically- not just mentally and emotionally- if you can just shrug off the bad stuff as character-building exercises...

Meanwhile, I hope you are still getting a lot of pleasure from your garden, your family and friends (including your fellow rose addicts at GW), and all the little things that help keep us all going.

Please keep us posted, and let us know when you need some plant gossip to distract you and cheer you up.

Wishing you all the best,

Virginia