Jennifer, I didn't see your post until after I posted mine.

Don't worry about cleaning the house. It can wait. We have been through the loss of a ton of older relatives and friends the last few years, and I guarantee you that as the ends of their lives approached, they often talked about regrets and things they wish they'd done more of or done differently, and not a single one of them ever said they wished they'd spent more time cleaning house. What they said they regretted or wished for? That they could have spent more time with family, had worried less about the small stuff (and it is all small stuff, remember?), had let themselves have that extra bowl of ice cream or slice of cake, and that they had slowed down and smelled the roses more often. I think there is a lesson in that and I've tried to learn from all of them and not stress so much over the house being perfectly clean, all the laundry done or the yard mowed twice a week (it ain't happening!).

I'm sorry to hear you still aren't sleeping well. Does melatonin work for you? I usually sleep well after taking it, and seem to get into a deeper sleep and don't wake up as much at night as I used to (although much hinges on how much Tim is snoring). Or, the dogs. Nothing makes sleep harder than a husband and two dogs all in the room all snoring round robin all night long. Sometimes I am surprised I sleep at all.

The jars of canned food look great! I know so much work goes into getting all that canning done and you and HU have been hard at work getting all of it done. I still don't miss canning as much as I thought I would, but the girls want to do a lot of it last year (because they are young and think of it as fun and not as work). They're both pickle freaks, so I am sure we'll do a lot of pickles.

Hope you have a good week this week.

Dawn

Dawn, the beet seeds were not the smallest packs that you see on the racks, they were something less than letter size packs, but not $7.99 worth. I want to buy at least an oz of seed. I bought 3# of purple top, and, barcant, turnips and 3# of forage collard seed some days ago. I wont need that many now, but I may need to plant more in the spring.

I have been brush hogging the past two days trying to get caught up. I only have one tractor running and it is a lot of trouble to change implements because I dont have enough strength to lift and shove, but at this time I dont have much choice. I will install a box blade on my small tractor and start contouring the wildlife garden to get it to rain better. Right now the wildlife garden looks nice. I have mowed it and the bar ditch. I still have pumpkins and tomatoes over there, but I have cut the flowers, peas, and water melons down.

I am really hurting for water on the garden, I dont think I can wait on the rain because the plants are showing a lot of stress. I have had kids and grand kids over picking anything they can find. I am happy that they can get the produce before it is too late..

I am not ready for the 4th week of August either. I am not ready for cold. Nope. Not ready for dark. Man I hate it when the sun goes down early.

I want to add to the having your affairs in order: go to the bank and make sure every account has a beneficiary listed. Mom had a savings account with no beneficiary. So 1500 we can't get unless we pay a lawyer to go through probate. I am sorry for what Chris and Jana are going through.

We were supposed to have dinner at cracker barrel Sat night for grandson's 3rd birthday. They wouldn't seat more than 8 people together and we had 12. So we got volunteered to host pizza at our house. It was nice though, with 3 out of 4 of our kids and the 4 grandsons. Loud. Busy.

Daughter is at that stage of pregnancy where she can't get comfortable.

We picked 3 okra pods and a cucumber yesterday! Finally. I want to find a place for arugala and mache. I guess the bed Ron pulled all the cowpeas from. I haven't looked to see if any lettuce sprouted. My luck I let it get dry this weekend. I have 3 25' hoses connected together and on a reel. Last night I turned the hose on and blew the end off the middle hose. It must have been kinked and the pressure just blew the connector off. Just 2 hoses won't quite reach the furthest beds.

I'm 10 minutes late feeding the dogs, gotta go. Have a good week.

Amy

have you seen the stainless steel hoses? my kids got those in Denton and they are very lightweight to carry around no kinking ever No bad words needed when using. They are really worth their money. They run about a dollar per foot.

Nothing is worse than hose that wants to kink...when you just want to get the watering done and back in the AC.

AMEN dbarron.

Amy, That is a great point about the bank accounts. My brother had all that set up with our Mom, so we learned from him. I have to give him all the credit---he is the reason it was so easy to settle her estate after her death.

I'm not ready for the shorter day length either. I've been noticing it already. (sigh) And y'all know I don't do cold weather, but then OK hardly ever has any really old weather this far south anyway, and certainly not the last few years. I'm glad though, as plants survive the warmer winters much more easily. When we have a night that the temperatures drop into the 50s, I declare that to be cold weather and break out the cocoa. The girls and I are looking forward to weather like that, but we probably will not have it here for quite a while yet.

I did not know that Cracker Barrel would not seat parties of larger than 8. I assume that is related to COVID-19? Our granddaughters love going to Cracker Barrel and also want to order pancakes for dinner if we take them there. I'm glad y'all were able to host a nice pizza gathering at your home.

How many more months or weeks does your daughter have to go? She has my sympathy. I was not one of those glowing, I love being pregnant women. I was a miserable I just want this to be over pregnant woman, probably because I am very short-waisted and there just wasn't much room to carry a child. Note that I have one child. (grin) Those women who have baby after baby after baby have my admiration because that is a lot to put one's body through time and again.

Kim, Are you still seeing hoses in stores? With all the new gardeners this year, hoses seem to have been sold out everyplace we go. We didn't need any, but I couldn't help noticing the empty shelves.

When we have a hose blow, Tim buys a repair kit and fixes it. He's handy that way.

dbarron, I agree.

While our oldest granddaughter is here with me today, her mom and stepdad (our son), were in a courtroom dealing with an health/safety issue involving our grandchild's interaction with her father. It has been a long journey for all of them this year with the end result being that her father is denied any sort of visitation with her at all. The judge gave them everything in court they had asked for to protect her and that probably is all I should say about that. We're just relieved it all is over and she is safe. Our daughter-in-law's stress level has been off the charts lately, and you cannot even tell it---she is the same smiling, sweet gentle soul as always. I just marvel at how well she handles 99 kinds of stress coming at her from all directions. She is so special to us, and if I could have chosen a daughter-in-law for us myself, I would have chosen her, so I'm glad our son had the good sense to fall in love with her.

It is hot here. I'm guessing that as the tropical storms/hurricanes get closer to the southern coast, our dewpoints will rise and we'll be more miserable without really getting good rainfall out of it. It feels like we're rolling back to the heat we've already been through lately, while I'm dreaming of autumn instead of an endless summer. In the worst possible case scenario, we really don't cool down much until the end of September, which seems an awful long way off still.

I need to go back to Hobby Lobby this weekend and look at autumn and Christmas stuff and try to convince my brain that cooler and more pleasant weather really is coming soon. I can trick my mind until we walk out the door into the sunshine and heat. The Wal-marts here have chrysanthemums in full bloom, and it is too early and too hot for that. These poor plants have no idea what is about to hit them.

Dawn

Dawn, I'm so happy for you finding the right DIL!! (Or rather, Chris finding the right one.) I LOVE that for you. (My son found the right one, too. Like Jana, Steph is amazing. Could not have loved a biological daughter more than I love her.) She HAS had her hands full with stress!

Yep, it's hot here today, too. Not worth working out there. I'm glad I got so much done day before yesterday. I know it's hot here when I turn the big fan up and am still almost too warm.

Garry always fixes the hoses too. I know I shouldn't run over them with the lawnmower, and every time I chance it, I say a little prayer, I suppose (lol). I feel much more at ease now, however, since he sliced one in half with the mower. Yay! That's the worst though, cutting them in half in the middle of the length. Wow, WE couldn't have stainless steel ones. That'd be a $150 hose.. (Ours hose isn't really 150'; it's a 50-footer attached to a 100-footer.). Our 100-ft one doesn't kink--that's because it's an expensive super heavy one. BUT that also means it's a pain in the neck to move. Dang, that thing is heavy. But our 75' one is the one that always kinks. It was so maddening when my hip was hurting so badly to have to walk back 30-40 feet to unkink the #$%^& hose.

We're going to meet Suzanne and John at Russ's for dinner. I hope we can snag a table. Their booth tables aren't very big. Suzanne said they're doing a great job with the masks and spacing, though, so that makes me feel better. I was whining about chigger bites yesterday; she said John swore by clear nail polish; I think Amy does, too, right, Amy? Garry also suggested we get some. Suze said she'd get us some, what else did we need. (Ritz and Club crackers and sour cream--all three must-have staples.). The nut actually drove them out to us an hour later. I wasn't expecting that and scolded her. She said, "Oh no you don't. I've HAD those chigger bites and they are MISERABLE." lol. Dinner tonight is for her birthday, or we probably wouldn't have done it. SO, I just called the restaurant and asked the lady if she knew who John and Suzanne were. She said, "Do you mean Brother John?" I laughed and said yes. Then told her we were meeting them t 6 and I wanted to pay. She wailed, "OH NOOOOO," We're out of bone-in chicken". (And Suzanne said that was what they were going to order. . .). She then said because they were such great people, she'd try to run to Walmart during her break to get some. Too funny! We both laughed. They do SO much for the children in town--and sometimes without the help of those organizations who should be helping. Some people just slop their way through their jobs.

Crazy. I just saw a swallowtail caterpillar hoofing its way on the deck toward the door. I figured it was going to make its chrysalis there. . . and didn't think that was a great idea because of our critters. and our traffic. So I got it on a piece of paper plate and moved it to one of the big plant containers. I do hope it decides that'll work. Cracked me up. Those little rascals can move fast, can't they?

Amy, I had a similar situation with $1500 in Mom's checking account at one of the banks (the stupid one) in Buffalo WY. She had accounts with 2 banks, and when I was up there and moved her into the nursing home, we had to get me onto the accounts. First bank perfect. Second bank only put me on as Power of Attorney, rather than a co-signer. Dumb ______s.. SO when she died, I couldn't access the account. They told me I had to wait an insane amount of time (can't remember what it was now) and then file an affidavit. I was shocked and angry, and then the lady dug in her heels and didn't even have the decency to apologize for the mess. So then I told her the other bank did it just right. haha. After I'd waited, I signed the affidavit and sent it to the bank president, rather than to just anyone. I told him what happened and asked for his help in resolving it. I received the check in short order--probably about a week. THEN I began receiving overdraft notices on a monthly basis. The check they sent me was for $.04 more than was in the account. I just laughed. Well this went on for like four months and each time, they charged overdraft fees. So finally I had to write another letter to the bank president and sent a copy of the online statement with the overdraft fees. That was the end of the matter. Good thing I didn't live in Buffalo WY or I might have gone in and snatched her head bald.

That wasn't a lot of gardening talk, huh. Best to you all.

I was on my moms account at one of the banks but my little sister got the statement. She called and said Kim you haven’t closed that account you really need to do that. Okay so death certificate in hand preparing myself for a meltdown I go to the bank.

before I get to banker I am cashing in my coins. Teller says that account is closed. Well how that’s what I am here to do

go to the banker and said it’s closed due to inactivity. Well ya of course.

no drama no tears waste of time. But it’s done.

back to regularly scheduled program.

Dawn I haven’t looked for hoses I just know the kids bought these on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Bionic-Steel-Stainless-Metal-Garden/dp/B071KT21BK/ref=asc_df_B071KT21BK/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216532910363&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7227545900503789507&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9027290&hvtargid=pla-351646549355&psc=1&th=1

55. for 100’

I planted cilantro seed two weeks ago. None have germinated. No idea what I did wrong. I did not soak the seed but I watered the bed every other day. IDK what else I could've done. I'm wondering if its just too hot.

My parents had the same issue when grandma died. They were on the accounts but however they were set up it still had to go through probate or something. So for like a month they couldn't access her funds.

Dad finally got smart and ran faucets to each garden bed. Then it's just a matter of hooking up short hoses for the beds. No more lugging those things around like when I was a kid. Naturally watering was my job, grumble grumble, and we had at least 2 of those 100ft hoses to reach the front.

Please note, I hate cilantro and would never grow it, so this is not from experience, but it *is* a cool season annual. It is not going to grow in a typical August.

OSU Ext Fall garden guide says cilantro can be planted July 15 to August 1.

Garden guide

I'd searched internet for guidance and its generally listed as a fall garden option, but those sites I found stating that, other than OSU Ext, were not regional.

But soil temp is the only thing I can think of, as to why none of the approx 200 seeds have germinated. This is day 14 . They're suppose to germinate in 7 to 10 days.

I'm at a loss. Only other reason could be that I planted too deep, recommend 1/4 to 1/2 " deep, but its really hard to gauge depth, especially when working with loose soil that's gonna compact after its been watered.

Once upon a time, when I was young, memorial day would be so cold that you had to wear a jacket. Then, planting beets and cilantro in August might have made sense. No more ;0

Kim, that is the hose that blew. Under the steel is a half inch plastic tube. We've tried in the past to find repair parts for 1/2" hoses and couldn't. I've had several in years past and the pressure from our faucet would cause them to break. The hose wasn't actually kinked, I think the other hose on the reel compressed it somehow. I like these, but Ron ran over one with the mower and although it still functions it made a place that doesn't slide and gets caught on things.

Yes, cilantro prefers cooler soil. Try shading it and wetting it daily to keep it cool. We're supposed to have a cool front next week. When I plant things in Aug I like to lay burlap over it and keep the burlap moist. You have to check for sprouts daily.

Nancy, I don't use nail polish. I get the aloe vera gel with lidocaine. When I was young it was believed that chiggers stayed in the bite and nail polish suffocated the mites. What actually happens is depriving the area of oxygen helps with the itch. Gel with lidocaine is not as messy.

To prevent chiggers you can do a few things. Powdered sulfur on shoes and socks. Oil rubbed on lower legs. Any kind, as they can't crawl through it. When you come in, rub your ankles and legs all over to squish them before they bite. Hosing your legs off would wash them off too.

We are dealing with getting Medicare b and Ron's Social Security set up for when he retires 9/30. I hate this kind of paperwork.

Daughter is due 10/7, but last time she saw the OB she told her he was big, like he was 2 weeks further along. Daughter has said he will be born in Sept, because she had a dream, so we'll see. Lambert's have big babies. My youngest was 10.5 pounds.

Barring an early freeze, do I have any chance of getting green beans if I plant now? Bush or pole?

Still pushing the fall tomatoes to set fruit before it’s too late. Hoping cooler weather next week helps. I’ve also been assisting my cucumbers with pollination, and I think it’s helping. My nephew can eat a couple cucumbers a day, and loves mine.

My grandmother swore by sulfur powder for chiggers. I use Deep Woods Off, because I attract both chiggers and mosquitoes. I have citronella bracelets, but they don’t seem to help much. I also jump straight in the shower after being out.

I have cilantro seeds planted, I’m keeping the pots in a pool of water until they sprout. Parsley too. Lettuce is starting to come up in the tote, no sign of spinach yet.

I guess it doesn't matter that I am not quite ready to plant, because I am sure my luck would not be any better than what you guys are having.

I lost almost a day trying to find a top link to attach to my box blade. I knew that I had had one, just could not remember where it might be. After just wearing myself out looking, and calling trying to find one in stock. I thought about my great filing system, " look where you last used it", I found it, but I had used it about 3 years ago, and had forgotten about that. It was hanging right where I left it, on an old disc that needs more repair than it is worth. I have two worn out disc, along with a lot of other worn out junk that no one would fool with, but I spend a lot of time trying to keep it patched up and going. Neatly everything I own is obsolete.

Well I had better get to working, I have been to Ft. Smith to help Madge's son get his truck started. I am rested now and can go move some dirt to make the wildlife garden drain better. I love working on the wildlife garden, its not the garden so much, it is improving the soil, contouring the land and playing with the tractor. I love the planting and other stuff also, but I dont walk well enough to do much of that.

I guess I will have to order my beet seeds. All the packs I have found in the stores have too few seeds in them and cost too much money. I checked at Tractor Supply again and the package I had looked at for $7.99 was a seed tape with 130 seeds on it.

Rebecca , If plant NOW , might have a chance . Go with a bush bean with a short mature date

like Contender ( 40 days).https://www.vermontbean.com/product/V01028/206

HU

I agree with you, HU, on the OSU planting guide dates. I planted cilantro mid-late September. Here, it hasn't even considered freezing over the winter. I have it self-seeding thickly in one raised bed and outside the raised bed areas. https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/cilantro/

Cilantro is a cool-season crop that does best at temperatures between 50 and 85 degrees F. It can tolerate temperatures as low as 10 degrees F, but if temperatures exceed 85 degrees F it will start to bolt. In Texas, the best time to plant cilantro is in February for an April harvest and again in September for a November harvest. Weekly plantings will ensure that you have a continuous crop. The first time I grew fall cilantro was 3 years ago. I haven't sown any since, because it self-seeds prolifically.

Yes, Dawn, dianthus (Sweet William variety is what we have) does beautifully here, as do the ornamental kales and cabbages, and the pansies. Suzanne and John LOVED all three. I think I'll just buy bedding plants. Not reallyiq the mood to mess with the grow cart in the fall, I decided. I'll just pick up the bedding plants from Lowe's.

The nail polish worked like magic for Garry. I'll look for the aloe vera and lidocaine gel. Meanwhile, I deduced that what had attacked me was not chiggers, rather it was FLEAS! I expect a fair number traveled in on Titan, perhaps MOSTLY Titan, in fact. He missed his vet appt in April because of Covid. So I made an appt for him yesterday and will take him in on Thurs. I'm glad it finally dawned on me what the problem is.

Best get busy.

Cilantro seeds germinate best is soil temperatures of maybe about 56 or 58 to around 65 or 66 degrees, so I suspect the August heat is just too brutal for the seeds. When I have let cilantro go to seed in my garden, the new plants do not usually sprout on their own until around October....and sometimes not until February or March.

HU, I agree the OSU planting guide for fall seems unrealistic as far as getting seeds to germinate. I know their primary focus must have been days-to-maturity before freezing weather arrives or whatever, but that does a tremendous disservice to people struggling to germinate seeds in ridiculous heat. I'd say that in the years when I've had the best fall gardens, I adhered pretty closely to OSU-recommended fall planting dates for warm-season crops, but ran really late with all the cool-season plantings by choice. And, to be fair to OSU, don't yall remember when September weather used to cool down really quickly and you knew exactly when autumn arrived because the mornings were cold? That was just 20 or so years ago. Nowadays it seems like the summer heat hangs on longer and longer into autumn, about to the point that I feel like I cannot plant any cool season plants any more for fall because we stay pretty danged hot down here right up until the first frost arrives. It makes me crazy. I think OSU needs to pay attention to how our soil temperatures and air temperatures are staying consistently warmer well into autumn and update some of their planting recommendations accordingly. I have wondered if the people writing and updating the fact sheets have much actual hands-on growing knowledge from a real, back-yard garden situation, or if they are relying mostly on book-learning and lab growing.

Nancy, I'm glad your son found the right one too. A daughter-in-law who fits in with the family is such a tremendous blessing and I know that Tim and I count our lucky stars daily. Our three girls (Jana is so much younger than us that I guess we'll always think of her as a girl, lol) have added immeasurable love and joy to our lives.

All I've done outdoors today is feed the hummingbirds and water. While the nights still cool off nicely, the heat ramps up quickly once the sun rises. We're supposed to be back near 100 degrees by the weekend. I was hoping we were finished with temperatures like that, but guess we aren't. Between the heat and the allergens in the air, August seems tailor-made for hibernating indoors in the air-conditioned house.

I learned an important chigger lesson from Chris and Tim one year. When they were working on Chris' house, they sat down and had lunch in the grass (we do have lawn furniture and patio furniture but I guess walking 100' to use it was just too much...) one day (as if they had no good sense at all) and were covered from the waist down with a gazillion chigger bites. They both seemed perfectly fine. I asked how and they said "if you never, ever scratch one, they won't start itching". And, I watched them and it seemed true, so the next time I had chigger bites on my ankles, I absolutely refused to ever scratch even one of those bites one single time, and sure enough, in no time at all they were gone, taking the itchiness with them. I had always assumed I was too big of an itchy/scratchy wimp to be able to resist scratching them, but I did it.

At least the bank president was responsive when you elevated the issues to that level.

Sometimes there is not a lot of gardening to talk about, and isn't August one of those times? At least we still can talk about life and just keep the conversation going while the gardens limp along on water hose life support awaiting the end of August and, hopefully, better weather conditions in September.

Kim, Well at least you got it done. I believe my brother ended up on all the accounts as a co-owner or whatever it is called so he could close them out after paying all the bills and settling the estate. If he experienced any frustrations with that process, he never even told the rest of us....he was just Joe Cool all the way, which is typical of him...you know...everything's cool, everything's under control, everything's fine. He kept all of us on an even keel, and there were no meltdowns---just the usual grief that accompanies the loss of a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Our water hoses are ancient relics from the Sears' heyday when the Craftsman water hoses were made really well and came with a lifetime waranty---not that you'd likely ever have to use the warranty because the hoses really are made to last a lifetime. Our hoses are about a quarter-century old and the only one we had to take back to Sears was one that Tim ran over with the riding mower and cut into several pieces. They replaced it, no questions asked. They "might have been" laughing at the stupidity of a person who thought he'd mow right over the hoses without cutting them up. I know that I was, and he didn't appreciate the remarks I made about that either. I hope these Sears' Craftsman hoses last forever because they are not making them any more, and nothing else I've ever found, including expensive commercial hoses for landscapers, comes close to their quality. We hadn't bought any new Sears hoses in the last 20 years but, based on the comments of people who did, the quality of the new ones declined dramatically in the 2000s and I think they weren't worth buying after around 2004 or 2005. Someone said Sears stopped offering the lifetime warranty because they weren't being made to that standard any more, but I never verified that. It would have been reason enough to not buy their hoses any more but it all is a moot point now.

Amy, I hate that sort of paperwork too. Good luck with it all.

I bet your daughter is right about the baby coming early---moms know what is going on in their bodies and with their babies. I hope it all goes smoothly for her. Labor is hard enough on a body even when it all goes perfectly well.

Rebecca, Bush beans yes, pole beans maybe not. It depends on the days to maturity. I like to use the ones with pretty short DTMs for fall, like these: Contender 40-42 days; Provider, Top Crop or Burpee's Stringless 45-50; Tendergreen or Royalty Purple Pod 52-55. If early cold threatens, just cover them, because we usually get oodles of nice weather after the first frosty night or freeze.

I use Deep Woods Off for chiggers too, but only spray it on my shoes, socks and pants legs because I hate putting it on my skin. I think I had 2 or 3 chigger bites once this year, but just ignored them. I did not have one of those big chigger episodes when you are just miserable and just can't stop scratching. I'm wondering if the constant flooding rain drowned all our chiggers this spring, which is perfectly fine with me if that is what occurred.

Larry, Honestly, obsolete farming equipment is better than the new stuff they make nowadays. A friend of ours worked for 3 decades plus as a certified John Deere repairman, so he saw everything change as the engines and sensors and all that crap took over, and he also saw farmers become disenchanted with the newer tractors that were so much more expensive and so much harder to repair. We have seen lots of folks here in our area get rid of the newer, sensor-laden, heavily-electronic tractors and go back to using tractors that are many decades old, but which can be fixed by the farmers themselves. I cannot say that I blame them. It is sort of the same way with old farm pickup trucks---they aren't all fancy and shiny and too pretty to use, and a farmer can fix his own truck when it breaks down. We'll never get rid of our old truck because the new trucks are just too pretty to use for real work and too expensive/too hard to repair yourself. I see Tim drool over pretty, shiny new trucks but he knows that if you want a work truck, that's not what you need.

Nancy, I have so many self-seeding herbs like cilantro here (parsley, basil, fennel and dill as well) that I hardly have to plant any in the spring. As long as I let them go to seed, they come up the following year on their own, and I just thin or transplant as needed. Between self-seeding herbs and self-seeding flowers, I'm doing less and less actual planting each year.

Jesse is our only dog prone to fleas because he loves to be outside whereas the other three dogs have become indoor divas. The last time he went to the vet they gave him something for heartworm/fleas that he only has to take once or twice a year. Tim said the vet was real impressed with it and recommended it, and it seems to have worked. Jesse scratches, but I haven't found a flew or tick on him, so guess he just has itchy skin. He needs a bath, but it takes two of us to do that because he wants to play more than bathe, which makes it a real challenge.

I've had the TV on The Weather Channel all day long, listening to the endless hurricane babble. It looks like Hurricane Laura will come ashore somewhere along the TX/LA coast and should bring wind and some rain significantly inland, perhaps up into the ArkLaTex region (Larry!). Our local TV met rain one of those rainfall predictor models last night on the evening news and it predicted our area would get a whopping 0.12" of rain from the hurricane's aftermath, so it isn't going to be the rainmaker we were hoping for. I think Arkansas or even eastern OK may get significant rain in some locations. Did y'all know that today is the third anniversary of Harvey hitting the Texas Coast with all the flooding that followed? Thankfully, Laura is not expected to be that sort of storm. Shelters now are opening as far north as Dallas so Houston and southeastern TX evacuees have someplace to go.

Our small, lightly-populated county has four separate school systems: Thackerville, Marietta, Turner (western Love County) and Greenville-Overbrook (up near Carter County). So, yesterday Turner Public Schools announced a return to distance learning after 1 student and the school superintendent tested positive for Covid-19. Today Marietta Public Schools announced one student had tested positive, but they're focusing on keeping the school open and doing contact-tracing, etc. How in the world are these schools ever going to make it through the school year when they can't even make it through a week or two of school? How can parents work if these kids are not at school? There's not enough day cares in southern OK to replace all the schools. I told Chris and Jana that the girls can come here if school shuts down and I'll teach them while C & J are working. Lillie's school goes on regardless because it all is online, but Aurora loves in-person classes and would be so very disappointed if her school shuts down and reverts to distance learning. Kindergarten is just more fun when done in a group.

I look back longingly at last fall when we could go anywhere and do anything and we weren't worried about disease and illness and the schools weren't shut down, and fall sports were going on as scheduled. I cannot help thinking this fall is going to be/feel all wrong by comparison. You know, we all can just lose ourselves in our gardens, but then at some point, we have to leave them and venture out into the masked world we live in now. I just don't like it. Tim had another employee test positive for Covid-19, but this person seems to only have a mild case, knock on wood. Cases here are creeping upward, but we still don't have a lot compared to most counties, and we are grateful for that.

It is so hot again today and the heat index values are worse each day. I'm hoping next week's cold front makes it this far south.

Dawn

Hi. I just saw the post about cilantro and wanted to comment (actually I want to comment on more, but I'm fading fast) Lynn, it's too hot for cilantro. (I'm sure other people have already said that.) I have some dead ones in my herb beds right now and they've dropped seed all summer long. Nothing has sprouted. Often, they'll sprout in October once it cools down... and if we don't get too cold for too long, they'll last all winter and spring until about May. They really can't take the heat at all despite what the OSU guide says. And mine are in the afternoon shade. Good thing, though, is they seed well and will come back every year....just not in the hot months.

<3 to all.

I believe my problem getting things to sprout is water. I am not in Denton to water twice a day. And this time of the year I believe that is what is necessary To get seeds up. I have planted six different things so far and only the cucumbers came up. I am going to also try Dawn’s trick and use compost in trench. I will let you know how that works.

today

is the day of adoption. I told him yesterday I was coming and he was so surprised. So in a creepy voice I told him I wouldn’t miss it for anything. He will be ours and will never escape. LOL he loved that.

i believe it will be the turning point

Kim, Happy Adoption Day! Hope it all goes perfectly.

I think you're right about it being a moisture issue. I'm watering my garden pretty consistently, but with no rainfall and with all the heat, you really cannot even tell I've been watering it. It only looks slightly less bad than the really dry native areas that have had no irrigation (which is, you know, 99.9% of our property, because only the garden gets watered).

Jennifer, My experience with cilantro is exactly the same as yours.

Y'all, Hurricane Laura approaches! I'm going to link the 7-day QPF because the storm is going to bring a lot of rain up into the ArkLaTex region, and I think Larry's area looks likely to get a good soaking. The rest of us, depending on how far north and west we are, likely won't see as much rain, in any. Folks in southeastern OK might get quite a bit. However, the passage of the Tropical Storm/Tropical Depression as it moves northward and begins to turn back E/NE will bring cooler temperatures to some folks in our region, even if only briefly. Laura now is a Cat 3 making a run for Cat 4 status, and her strength is likely to carry Tropical Storm strength winds further inland than we usually see. This is bad news for all the gigantic trees in eastern EX and western Louisiana. The NWS dropped our forecast high on two days from 99 to 97, which isn't a lot, but every little bit helps. My mind can convince me that 99 was almost 100 so HOT, but that 97 is practically 95, so only very warm. lol.

Here's the 7-day QPF:

7-Day QPF

There is no gardening going on here today. I did water early in the day, and have a few tomatoes and a lot of peppers to harvest. I might do that tomorrow which will be even cooler than today. The hummingbird traffic at the feeders has dropped a bit. I think the adult hummingbirds are leaving now to migrate. The juvenile ones stay behind, fueling up, a little bit longer. There are lots of butterflies and moths, and plenty of songbirds. I saw only one grasshopper in the garden, and no other pests except for it.

Dewpoints are rising and reaching the yucky point. Lately we've awakened to dewpoints around 59 or 60 and they only go up a few points during the day, so heat index values have been hovering around, or just beneath, air temperatures. This morning you could feel the difference in the air---our dewpoint is 73 this morning and I sure miss those lower dewpoints. Our heat index values are climbing of course.

Have a good day everyone.

Dawn

Dawn, I am already getting rain, nice, very slow at this time. I have been working out in the rain all morning, trying to move soil and cut drainage paths for the water. I have been trying to reclaim an old road bed. It is surprising how well it looks. I think I have it well enough to grow a cover crop and start building the soil. There is a lot of shale and gravel that I cant do anything with, other than pick out the larger rocks when i run across one.

Hopefully we will get enough rain for me to tell how well this part of the wildlife garden drains. I still need to do some touch up work, but the rain was making the tractor loose traction, and I got a call from the nursing home where my neighbor is, telling me that he needs clothes, I may have to buy him some because, from the way he dresses I know that he has very little. This will be another chance to take Madge to the Olive Garden, if she would like to go.

Larry, I am glad you are getting rain and hope you don't get too much.

Here's the map that shows how much rain has fallen in OK today, part of the rain storms spinning up in advance of Hurricane Laura, and there is more to come.

Rainfall Since Midnight--OK Mesonet

I confess to being green with envy over Broken Bow's 5"+ of rain, although if that rain keeps up, Broken Bow is gonna have flooding issues.

If y'all get to go to town, I hope you both enjoy a nice meal out. Your neighbor is so lucky to have you looking after him.

It is kind of scary how far north/inland the impacts from this storm are going to occur. This morning, the Smith (TX) county judge issued a Mandatory Evacuation Order for Tyler Texas, which is only about 100 miles east/southeast of Dallas. Tyler is under a Tropical Storm Warning, and I don't think I've ever seen a Tropical Storm Warning that far north. Of course, all parts of east Texas have huge forests like we have in eastern portions of OK, and having those trees come down in the strong winds is a huge risk as well. Residents are picking up sandbags from their local municipalities and trying to protect homes as far north as Shreveport. I believe the fear there is that between the rain, wind and storm surge traveling upstream in the Red River Channel....some flooding is going to happen and, since they cannot prevent it, all they can do is try to protect the low lying properties as much as possible.

There's entire fleets of power company vehicles headed south (Yay, Oklahomans!) through OK to TX today to help restore power after the Hurricane has done its worst. I haven't heard where they are going to stage, but I know storm evacuees have filled up Austin, San Antonio and most of the Dallas-Fort Worth area already. Because of Covid-19, instead of opening big mass shelters, Texas has elected to pay for hotel vouchers (previously arranged) for evacuees, so the evacuees arrive at a city, go to the "shelter check-in" location being run by the local emergency management personnel, receive their hotel vouchers and then go to their hotel. Austin TX ran out of vouchers overnight so after that the evacuees had to head west towards San Antonio or north towards Dallas-Fort Worth. I am grateful the state of Texas has found a way to help evacuees while also doing their best to keep them safe from mass gatherings that might spread Covid-19.

It is odd to sit here in Oklahoma, and see towns that are relatively close to us, like Shreveport, preparing for the hurricane and its effects. This one is going to push dangerous conditions pretty far inland....and as I was typing this last sentence, they just announced it already has achieved Category 4 status.

We are clouding up here and have a 30% or 40% chance of rain related to the hurricane, but not for a large amount of rain. Still, anything is better than nothing.

Dawn

Wow!! What a nice day!!! Overcast presently, 85 degrees. With the fans, it's about perfect! Chance of rain this afternoon. Glad you're getting some good rain, Larry. An old road bed?

Doesn't sound like you ever slow down, Larry. How is your neighbor doing? Bless Madge and. you. I'm wanting to find an Olive Garden now.

I am feeling so sorry for all the folks in the path of the hurricane--on top of everything else. I'm praying for them.

I've been sort of doing nothing today. . . some reading. I finally decided to go weed some stuff, and of course the clouds promptly moved on and I was in full sun. It's not that perfect out there in full sun and no fan.

Clouded up again, here I go. Later!

Aaron Tuttle thinks she’ll hit as a category 5.

Rainbow. If I feel like it, I will go look for the pot of gold tomorrow. I think can see the bale of hay it is sitting behind.

Wind is out of the south, you can see my Egyptian spinach, which is over 8 ft tall trying to lie down in the lawn.

Nancy, road bed is what we call an old road. The base, or bed was built with rock, shale, clay,or anything they could find to make a firm footing for the road. I have an old railroad bet running north and south across the property, it is about 200 yards past that first line of trees. Steam trains use to travel along that bed. The base of the old Roundhouse is a little under 3 miles north. I live in an old coal mining area.

It has rained softly most of the day, and no run off from the area of my wildlife garden, and no standing water, worked the ground good with the ripper teeth on the box blade behind the tractor. I can't wait to start working on the wildlife garden again.

It looks like I'm out of the rain zone according to weather.com. I'm too far NW and apparently the storm system wants to turn east.

I dont think we are going to get what was first indicated, but I think we did get at least an ,5 inch, and it may have rained a little last night. I am expecting 1 to 1.5 inches out of this system, but hoping for more.

Hi ya'll, long time no see! I guess I am a "bipolar" gardener (and mean no offense to anyone who has this condition). Wasn't gonna plant nothing else for fall, but we got such a great rain here in Moore in my area, I went out this morning and planted stuff. We shall see what comes of it!

Hi Nancy! It is nice to see you here. Good luck with your fall plantings.

dbarron, We are too far west and all of yesterday's rain missed us. I imagine today's will as well. Oh well, we are used to the rain missing us in August. The aggravating thing? It poured rain down on Tim at work and on the way home and he told me quite enthusiastically that the rain was following him home right up I-35. I laughed and told him unenthusiastically that it had veered well east of I-35 all day and since we are west of I-35, "his" rain that was following him up the interstate would miss us too, and it did. He was aggravated that I was right, but I'd been watching the rain patterns all afternoon and I knew that rain from north TX was going to go east and miss us. He had been in meetings all afternoon yesterday about post-hurricane rescue/recovery and didn't even know it was raining, so guess he was in a building with no windows. The interesting part of their plan? If a lot of people had to be rescued from uninhabitable homes, they were going to put them on planes and fly them to DFW Airport, then put them on buses and take them to Dallas hotels being used as shelters. I have no idea if that sort of thing is necessary today, but the airport was ready for it.

I stayed up late and watched the hurricane come in. It was bad, but I don't know how many people stayed behind in coastal counties that might need rescue. The howling winds you could hear at points in TWC's coverage were horrible though. I never want to hear that kind of howling winds here.

Larry, I thought you'd get more, but the hurricane did come in a little further east than many expected so that may mean you get less since it is trying so hard to go towards the northeast. I noticed it came in well within the NHC cone of possibility, which had been fixed on a TX/LA border landfall since at least Sunday. Any rain is good in August though.

Did you find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

Rebecca, Aaron wasn't the only one who felt that way. I was watching the raw Hurricane Hunter data all night long---even as the storm was making landfall, and there were some wind speed readings in the Cat 5 range, but only serious data analysis by the professionals will reveal if those wind speed readings were pure and accurate or if they were contaminated and, therefore, useless data. I saw a 157 mph reading once in the raw data and a 155.5 and maybe a 162 but don't remember if they were surface speeds or if they were from winds aloft. At least one TV station erroneously called it a Cat 5 and then had to retract because clearly they misunderstood the raw data and didn't wait for the NHC to analyze it. The hurricane hunter raw data often finds wind speeds that seem to indicate a Cat 5 but which do not because of data recording issues. There's always the option for the NHC to upgrade Laura from a Cat 4 to Cat 5 in the post-season analysis. I think they did that with Hurricane Michael.

Nancy, For as bad as it seems, the death toll is only 3 so far. I don't mean that those 3 lives did not matter because of course they do, but if that is as bad as it gets, then all we can do is be grateful it wasn't a lot worse. I do think the death toll will rise though. There are so many huge trees in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas (and beyond) that still could come down, and often do as people begin the clean-up, and then there always seem to be a few deaths during the clean up stage when people accidentally electrocute themselves by making contact with live power lines. One man in Texas did that yesterday and I don't think he is included yet in the official death toll. He was using a chain saw to cut back tree limbs near his own power line prior to the arrival of the storm, and accidentally cut the power line while standing on a 12' ladder. His wife saw the power flash and didn't realize what it was. A while later she realized she hadn't seen him or heard the chainsaw lately and went outdoors and found him on the ground. I am not sure if he already was deceased when she found him, but imagine he likely was.

We are a small county with only 4 school districts and two of them now have switched to distance learning because of Covid-19, and a third one has a couple of cases but apparently isn't shutting down school because of it. It might be their positive cases never were in the school while ill and only alerted the school as a courtesy.

I watered briefly this morning and that's all I did. I need to go out to the garden this evening and water all the containers. All I did this morning was water a little patch of fogfruit growing in the gravel parking area outside the garage. It is one of the few non-irrigated areas with something in bloom and I love the tiny frogfruit plants, so gave them a nice drink this morning to keep them happy and in bloom.

Tomorrow we return to the 100s but today's high hasn't even hit 90 yet so it feels pretty nice for late August. I wish the cool weather was going to last.

Dawn

We have to take Titan in to the vet in a few minutes. Garry doesn't want dog hair all over his "new" truck, so will have Titan on a leash and ride along side him in the back. I hope we don't get pulled over. That's illegal, isn't it? LOL

Dawn, someone beat me to that pot of gold.

I need some help. This is my second time growing winter squash and pumpkins, before, like most of my produce,I just gave it away, but this pandemic has me thinking differently. Some of my butternut have split, so I picked most that were near ready. My plan is to try to process the ones that are split,and try to cure the others. Is there anything that needs to be added to that plan?

Here is a picture of the squash, many should have stayed on the vine longer, but I was afraid they would split also. The vines are dying anyway.

The ones on the right are the split squash. I left a few squash on the vines that are not completely dead, although the squash bugs are doing their best to wipe them out.

My plan is to lay the good squash on the deck and try to cure them, is there a better way?

And no rain was found (as expected) :(

We have sprinkles most of the day, not enough to stop outside work,but enough to have wipers on very low. It started slow and steady late evening, and it sounds like very slow rain

Nancy, The last that I heard, it is not illegal to ride in the bed of a pickup truck in Oklahoma. When we have to take a dog in the SUV, we have a big, thick, padded moving blanket (purchased cheaply at Harbor Freight) to put over the seat to protect it from the dog. So far, it has worked out well.

Larry, That's too bad about the pot of gold.

I cure squash on a porch or patio with a cover so they cannot sunburn. It works just fine, especially with the heat we have right not. Your plan sounds fine to me, but if you can cure the split ones before processing, they'll have better flavor because that will give the starches time to convert to sugars. Otherwise, if you process them immediately, just remember they weren't cured first when cooking with them and be prepared to flavor them up a little bit.

dbarron, Was their rain near you? Does that count? We had rain to our north, west and south, but not here. We had at least 3 Significant Weather Statements issued to cover everybody else's little rainstorms, but nor ours since we didn't have one. We had a Flood Advisory north of us, and we had one south of us, but not one for us. However, all the funny business associated with everybody else's rainstorms did knock out our internet for about 3 hours. I was watching all that weather and was so disgusted when the rain missed us. About 85-90% of our county got rain. It mostly missed us---we got about 4 or 5 drops which didn't even register in the rain gauge.

So, tomorrow we have a Heat Advisory and that thing was issued at mid-day so we could know about it and fret and worry about it a whole lot longer. They should just call it a Stay Indoors and Don't Have Any Summer Fun Advisory so we all know to stay inside to avoid brutal heat index values. I'm trying to be a good sport about this but they raised our forecast high for Friday and Saturday from 100 and 100 to 104 and 103, and that's just the actual temperature, which makes me think their forecast of heat index values up to 107 might be off because our forecast high still was supposed to be 100 degrees when they wrote that heat advisory. So, I'll zip out to the garden soon after sunrise to water containers, and then I'll lock myself indoors and refuse to go outdoors again for any reason. Why even bother going outside in that heat? I'm going to make the cats stay in, and only will send the dogs out as briefly as necessary to do their doggie business. Then they'll spend the rest of the day sleeping on the sofa like the spoiled dogs they are. The chickens are on their own, but they'll already survived heat indices up to 118 at least twice this summer, so tomorrow's and Saturday's heat index values shouldn't be more than they can handle.

I know there is talk that a cold front is coming. I think most of you will see more of a cold front further north next week than we'll see down here south of the Arbuckles. Whatever happens, next week is not supposed to be as hot as the next two days. We'll see. I'm getting cranky over this heat. There is never one day, not even on the worst winter day, when I sit and think to myself "I can hardly wait for summer to get here and bring us some 104-degree days". Our plants are going to look so bad after a couple of hot, hot days, especially since August has been skimpy with the rainfall. I'd be happy if we had April and October weather year round.

Dawn

Dawn. thanks for the advice. I didn't know you could cure split squash. I will have to give a try. I have more than Madge wants, we dont have a lot of storage space. I have about 50 squash, Madge said she only wanted 15. We have to save some space for sweet potatoes and pumpkins. I dont know where we are going to put the pumpkins. The Old Timey Cornfield pumpkins are just now starting to turn colors, and are still putting on pumpkins. Its sorta funny to look at the cornfield pumpkin vines. I put an electric fence around them and power it off the tractor battery. The deer have gotten into the fence and yanked it down as they ran out the other side, now they eat the leaves that grow out under the fence, when they can easily jump the fence and eat anything they want, if food get hard to find I am sure that is what they will do. The fence is low enough I can step over it. The deer do have plenty to eat. I have plenty of clover for them, and they ate all my purple hulls peas, but they were not fenced. I may just try tearing up a little more ground and planting a bag of food plot mix for the deer, if they are busy eating the food plot mix, maybe they will leave the pumpkins alone. The one time I grew them before they stomped some of the pumpkins and ate part of the fruit, they are really wasteful critters. The would not finish one before they would bust another.

There was a lady that sent me some 5 seeds from a very large winter squash, I dont remember the name of it, but it was very productive plant. only one plant sprouted, but I think it produced near 400 pounds of squash. they averaged about 20 pounds each. That was my first year of growing that type of squash, so I pulled out all the stops and really cares for all my squash/pumpkins that year, I also took a fruit of each to the Arkansas. Oklahoma fair in Ft. Smith. I got a blue ribbon on each entry.

Anyway I would like to locate that lady and see if she remembers the name of that squash/ pumpkin. My feeble mind is telling me Dana from up around OK city, I am thinking she was an accountant. If any of you know the lady, or anyone that can point me to a very long storing, very productive winter squash I would like to get seeds. All of this happened around 2014. I would like to be able to produce food for some of the ones not able grow there own food. I know that there is a lot of people in my area that are old and could use some help putting food on the table. Thank you for your help.

Has anyone used Turks cap for jelly?

I haven't used it..but I would imagine using the blossoms would make colorful jelly..not sure about flavor though? I find if I have to add other things to make it taste good, why would I make that kind of jelly in the first place? Anyone? There's also the possibility of using the fruit instead or also, though I don't find it especially flavorful either.

Not much happening here, except butterflies. I was at Lincoln this morning; nothing much happening there, either. BUT this. I tried growing heavenly blue morning glories here last year--got NOTHING. Just not enough sun. Well there were some volunteer morning glories at Lincoln--Suzanne asked me if we wanted it, since it was climbing over everything. I told her to suit herself, since that's what morning glories do. So she tried to unravel some of it. I assumed it was ipomoea purpurea, since that's what grows rampantly here. I got a great chuckle seeing that it was Heavenly blue.

I guess we could try a moving blanket. I think we have a few in the shop, as a matter of fact. Yeah, Garry wasn't a fan of riding in the back of the truck. Titan liked it fine, though.

Okay. I just ordered my weed torch. Yay. I got it mostly for the drainage ditch (lined with rock) and the front and back flagstone areas. I'll get Coleman's propane at the hardwire store in town. The drainage ditch is 3 feet wide and about 120-140 feet long, running the width of our property except for the wide swath that is our "driveway."

Garry had to get out two more hummingbird feeders. So we're up to four 8-oz ones and one 12-oz one. And he's making nectar ever day now.

I have a lot of odds and ends to deal with in terms of veggies--okra, cucumbers, squash. I don't think I'll get to it until tomorrow. I spent too much time looking at weed torches and organic weedkillers.

Oh my. I'm so behind. I'm rereading the entire thread. I'm back to where Amy says she's not ready for the dark months. I am...not right now, but I will be soon. For me, it's a time to slow down and sit down and rest a bit. Catch up on a TV show or two. Stuff like that. Also, my candles, salt lamps and lighted lanterns . It all seems so cozy right now.

I like all the seasons except days like today. It's just too hot.

It was good to read all of your posts and sort of catch up with what's going on in your lives.

:)

My life has been very busy this week. Both jobs are demanding, but I finally got a day off of work yesterday. However, I was on my feet all day getting laundry done and other things. It had been 9 days since my last day off.

Job 1. We're doing "subscription boxes" and we finally got the first one out and delivered on Wednesday. Several items in the box were slow to be delivered...and other issues slowed the process down. But, it's done. And I have a month to get the next one ready....which really isn't long enough. Luckily I know what's going into the box.

Job 2 is difficult in ways that I don't feel comfortable sharing. Well...I can share a few things that aren't the "real" stressor. We are doing K , 1st and 2nd this year. We have a little girl with Downs on top of that. She is very smart and very stubborn. She really needs a para with her...but we are a small private school and don't have that option. She is adorable and her parents have high expectations for her, which is great. Because this girl will do well even with her challenges. BUT, it's hard. My body really can't handle the lifting and redirecting and all. I'm going to hurt my back, neck, etc.

Shower 1 is happening on Sunday. This is the shower that my daughter's friend is doing. Only I'm really doing it. Tomorrow is the day to get it all together. And today's brides get a NICE shower. Not just a punch bowl of sherbet punch and cake. No. It's a mimosa bar and brunch.

Luckily, Shower 2 and 3, I can just be the Mother of the Bride and show up.

Normally, I would scoff at all of this--the number of shower events. BUT she's getting the shaft at her wedding. The woman who owns the venue tried to force her to have it NEXT October. Mason doesn't want to wait another year to get married. All of the other clients are waiting a year, but Mason doesn't want to do that. SO, I had already paid $2750 (half) towards the venue...and we asked for our money back and Mason would just "elope", but the venue wouldn't refund the money. SO, we're stuck with a very small wedding. Okay. Not a big deal. Except this woman won't let Mason use the bridal suite, etc. (OR allow Tom to bring in food.) So, we have to find a place nearby that can do all of that, which is an Airbnb...(and hiring a food truck, which acceptable to this woman. )This is the place the bride and attendants get dressed etc. I know this all sounds so first world...but it's what the brides in "our" world do nowadays...and I want Mason to have that. All other wedding venues are going forward...but we get the one over-the-top-scared-of-freakin-covid venue.

So...that is why I'm going all out with the shower because my cousin and family can't go to the wedding because the numbers only allow immediate family and the wedding party. The cousins and family can go to the shower because this venue isn't freakish about Covid.

I'm so sick of covid19 fear that I want to throw up. Sick of it.

This is never ending. UNLESS it's political...and then it will end. We'll see. Friends who have had COVID last month have been newly exposed to someone who has COVID this month...should they quarantine again? Apparently so. Because if you risk just one person getting sick, you're a horrible person. BUT, no one ever gave a flying flip about making someone sick with any other illness ever AND they want to start holding people accountable with consequences for being sick and not doing..."things' right...whenever things are so confusing anyways. What a slippery slope that is.

My friend's 4th grade son had a positive in his class last week. BUT, her son wasn't at risk because he was never closer to the sick kid for longer than 15 minutes for distance shorter than 6 feet. Huh? So...huh? If the kids sneezed...or something IN the 15 minutes....????

BUT, today a second case came out. He's in 4th grade and Moore Public move kids to different teachers in that grade. All 4 teacher are out for 2 weeks (I'm sure they are thrilled) and all but 3 students will be schooling at home now.

And I'm pretty sure stores aren't restocking their stuff. I can't find a flippin dress to wear to this wedding. Some stores will let you try on clothing as long as you're wearing a mask. (Let's get real here. How do you try on clothes while wearing a mask?...it pulls off as soon as you pull your shirt off.) and some stores won't allow it. BUT you can take it home, try it on and then return it. Because this is less risky? Do they disinfect the garment when it's returned? No, they don't. But it looks so proactive...not allowing people to try on clothing. . Like restaurants spraying down tables and such. What a joke.

Brains have been lost somewhere.

I am thrilled that we got about a half inch of rain over the past couple of days. Today sucked, though. Heat index of 109. Yikes. HU and I pickled okra, shelled southern peas and planted green peas and turnips. Looks like that after tomorrow, it will cool down. We covered our beets and other things. It seemed to work.

Anyway...I know that I'm not a ray of sunshine right now. There's more to all of it....but I am grateful I have a pantry and freezer full of food. And many other good things too..

HJ I get it. It’s so contradictory I am done with it all. I follow the law and stay in my corner.

unless I were to take a trip to Oklahoma!! Soon.

gardens are as good as can be expected. Many things will be ripped out and replanted this week. okra is in high gear right now.

my grandson and I played a trick on my sister yesterday. He was so cute helping me. She is a city girl and only goes outside to get in the pool. She has a three acre property with one crape Myrtle. So my guy begs her to come take a tour of gardens. She finally conceded and out we go. Then he tells her if she would like some okra we can pick it right now. She

fell right into our trap moaning about things poking her feet and wheel bugs made an appearance and wow why is okra so pokey. It was classic.

my guy is quite the authority in the garden no w

Larry, You're welcome. I have cured it, and it didn't mold in the cracks, but you'll have to watch for that because the mold could happen. We're usually very hot and very dry when it is squash-curing time here and have low dewpoints, so I can get away with curing cracked squash, but you have more rain, more humidity and higher dewpoints there most of the time than I have here, so you might have mold happen.

This week we don't have the moisture but we have the high dewpoints and the high heat indices that go with them, but I don't have anything drying or curing so I guess it doesn't affect me.

I've store an excess crop of winter squash in the garage and it has kept out there for up to 18 months without spoiling. Most years I just lined them up on top of boards laid on the floor (to allow for a little air flow around the bottoms of the squash) but one year I put them on shelves and they were fine. Our garage is detached from the house and not heated, but it is very well insulated. The squash survived outdoor temperatures of around 15-18 degrees but it probably was a bit warmer than that inside the building. Other years I've stored them in a single layer in shallow boxes underneath the beds in the spare bedrooms or on my light shelf (minus the use of the lights since I wasn't starting seeds) in the spare room. Or, some years I've stored some of them on the floor along the back wall of the walk-in pantry. You can put them anywhere like that as long as you don't have rodents that might chew on them.

Your mind is not feeble and I'm sure you're thinking of Dana, who lives in or near Harrah or at least she did back then. I don't know if she still is gardening but you might search for her on FB under Dana Pattison Garcia or Dana Garcia and see if she still has a FB account. The pumpkins she gave you sound a lot like George's Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin or maybe Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, both of which are C. moschata types that produce large fruit and are highly productive.

Kim, I never have, but know that you can make jelly out of virtually anything that qualifies as edible fruit (including turk's cap and roselle, which itself is made from the flower calyces) as long as you have pectin and sugar. In our climate turk's cap ily plants can bloom on and off all summer, so I assume a person would have to collect and freeze the fruit all along until they had enough for a batch. Texas Jelly Making undoubtedly has a recipe for just such a product and I'll find it and link it here.

Turk's Cap Jelly

Nancy, I'd love to have a weed torch, but our grassland area we live in is perpetually too hot, too dry and has a tendency to burn any time any one gets near it with flame and we spend far too much time at grass fires without me being out there accidentally setting the grass or mulch on fire with a weed torch, so I'm never going to have one. I think they're a great tool in the right setting though.

Heat and butterflies were all we had going for us yesterday too, and it was excessive heat at that, making it a long, hot, horrible miserable day. Today will be the same.

Jennifer, I'm sorry work is so demanding. It is hard enough in general to work with children and now y'all are doing it with all the added demands made necessary by Covid-19. Hang in there.

I had a salt lamp and threw it away after reading about dogs and cats licking them to get the salt and then becoming ill and even dying of salt poisoning. That made me paranoid, even though I'd never seen our dogs or cats near the salt lamp, so I just got rid of it. I'm not indoors with them all the time so it could have happened and I would have been so upset if it did.

Everything about weddings, including the showers, are such big productions nowadays. I was so happy that Jana and Chris didn't want all of that, but I am sure that if it had been their choice, we'd have helped the two of them pay for everything (because her family lacks the means to fund a big wedding or even a shower). They 'eloped' to the courthouse with just Tim and I and the girls and it was fairly casual, very relaxed and just perfect for them, and then we celebrating by going to one of their favorite Mexican restaurants (a little hole in the wall type place I'd never even heard of, but the food was great). I loved how low-key and relaxed it was. My sister's stepdaughter just got married in a big outdoor wedding at a winery in Texas on the first weekend in August and it was a gorgeous wedding, but we didn't go (we watched it on FB Live) because it occurred during the big summer virus resurgence in TX. I hated missing it, but we have avoided crowds all year and will continue to do so until the worst of the Covid-19 crap is over. In a sense, I understand what the wedding venue woman is worried about. I recently read about a wedding in the northeast that the same occurred the very same weekend as my sister's stepdaughter's wedding, and from that northeastern wedding (must have been an indoors wedding/reception because I don't remember reading it was outdoors) about 18 people who attended that wedding almost immediately came down with Covid-19 and spread it to others, so the "effect" of that event was 55 new cases of Covid-19, at least some of which resulted in hospitalization. I haven't heard of any similar thing happen wingith Maddie's recent outdoors wedding in Texas, thankfully, so I'm not saying it will happen to y'all either....just that it happened to the people at that one wedding, and surely that news and other similar news like it makes other wedding venue operators extremely nervous and worried about their legal liability. However, if she isn't willing to let y'all fully use the facilities, she ought to refund every penny and let y'all cancel.

I believe the virus is very real (almost 25 million cases worldwide and around 880,000 or so deaths, and that is not fake) but is being exploited by various political groups for their own purposes, especially here in the USA, and I try hard to ignore the politics of it all and just focus on what the researchers are learning about the virus, how it spreads and how it affects people. We know it kills some people, and not just old sick ones---every now and then you read about a young person in so-called perfect health dying from it. We know it is leaving a certain percentage of people who had it with long-term, debilitating side effects similar to chronic fatigue syndrome or Lyme's disease that could affect them for the rest of their lives, and some people have had to have lung transplants and organ transplants after the virus damaged them so badly that they couldn't function. Some have lost limbs due to pervasive virus-related blood clotting. So, while most people seem to have a fairly mild case, those who have a more serious case and survive can have their lives changed forever. That is the part that bothers me because no one knows how it will affect them until they get it. With different strains in circulation and some people barely being affected while others die or suffer from serious, permanent side effects, it seems like it will take researchers a very long time to understand this virus. I wonder about the differences in it in some places---in New York City, for example, the death rate was especially high. There even were spots in Texas where the death rate was exceptionally high, but others where it wasn't. Why there and not here? That must be the question each community asks if they see it having a mild effect in their community compared to a much more serious effect in some other community. It is mind-boggling. It would be easier to ignore it and carry on with life as usual if it were consistently affecting everyone in the milder way, but it is just so variable. The schools are in a no-win situation. Two of our county's 4 school systems are shut down due to multiple cases, the third one has remained open and just sent home for quarantine the folks who contact tracing indicate might be in danger of coming down with it after being exposed to the ones who tested positive, and the fourth, a very small school, hasn't reported any cases. The third school is the largest school district in our county and I think they'll try to stay open as long as they possibly can, but imagine they must have some number in mind that would be 'too much' and would cause them to shut down the school if they reach that point. I'd hate to be the superintendent faced with deciding what action is best for their local school district, and you know that there are going to be upset parents on one side or the other no matter what the superintendent decides to do. Whether we like to think of schools as a form of day care or not, in essence they are, and when the schools shut down, a lot of parents have to miss work (and risk losing their jobs) to stay home and do the distance learning routine with their kids. What a mess it is. I think the superintendents must think hard about that too---what happens to the families if the schools shut down, if a parent loses their job because they have to stay home with the kids, etc. So many people are unemployed now and are being affected by this virus in ways we cannot imagine if our jobs have remained and our bank accounts aren't suffering because of the virus. I know that churches and food banks near us and across the river in Texas are giving out tons more food than usual, and every time they have a drive-through food giveaway, enormous numbers of people show up and line up early and line up endlessly and then they run out of food before they can get to everyone. That is sad.

We always try to have a year's worth of food on hand and stored away, so we could go a long time on that stored supply if the virus hit Tim's job, but that seems unlikely to occur in his line of work (they are busier than ever now). I do like knowing that if there is a serious resurgence of illness during the standard flu season, which I guess this year will be the flu + COVID season, then I can skip going to the store and we can get by on what we have. I've been more diligent this year about replacing food as we use it since we don't know if we'll see a repeat of last Spring's supply chain disruptions. Since I generally preserve food on a three year rotation (I try to can, freeze and dehydrate three years' worth of home-grown food when we having a bountiful harvest), we still have home-canned food from the last big canning year, but I'll have to grow enough to restock all that preserved food next growing season because this winter we'll finish using up what we have from a couple of years ago. Well, except for the roselle jelly and syrup. I did make that last fall and what we have in the pantry will last a good while yet because I made a lot more than we would eat in one year.

I have stocked up more on seeds in advance of next year's gardening season, having learned from the 2008-2009 economic downtown which led to huge seed shortages that it is better to get them early and have them than to have to worry about seed shortages or slow filling of seed orders caused by the increased demand from millions of new gardeners needing seeds. It is hard for seed companies to predict when an economic downturn will occur and will cause a sudden huge surge in demand.

It was hot yesterday---we hit 104 and our max heat index was a whopping 116, and yes, it felt as bad as it sounds. Today is expected to be virtually identical, so the NWS upgraded our Heat Advisory to an Excessive Heat Warning. It is going to be too hot to do anything today. I did go outdoors a couple of times yesterday and pour ice cubes into the animals' water bowls so the feral kittens and chickens had cooler water to drink. I didn't let our pet cats go out at all and the dogs only went out briefly. We're all just trying to stay cool and get through this latest heat wave. I did not hear an excessive number of medical calls on the fire radio that sounded heat-related, so I think folks here heeded the warning to stay indoors, stay in the shade while outdoors and to stay hydrated. The high schools down here had their first football games last night, and the heat indices were over 100 degrees when the games started---now that is ridiculous and I bet it felt miserable out there. Fall weather cannot get here quickly enough. I hope September brings it!

Dawn

Lowes and Home Depot have Bonnie broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower but no Collards today. Worleys had those and Brussels sprouts.

It has sprinkled today, which kept it cloudy, which kept the heat index down. Sun is trying to come out now.

Had lunch with a friend yesterday, it was so nice. Mad Eats in Owasso has a nice patio, with fans and heaters. It's a good place to meet friends. Food is acceptable.

I babysat 7 yo grandson Wed and Thurs. Which meant trying to keep him on track for distance learning. The poor teachers. They're trying to teach 2nd graders to navigate the software for the classes. I have no doubt that these kids can navigate phones and computers already. But they're not particularly motivated to navigate school software. Grandson missed PE (PE???) Because we couldn't figure out how to join the meeting. (Turns out the page wasn't refreshing.) Then we had a melt down not being able to find things in the back pack. And again because the class was going too fast. We couldn't get to the computer class assignment. And when we finally found it it was too late and we didn't know what to do with it. (BTW, the boy's computer teacher is my daughter's 4th grade teacher from 20 odd years ago.) It was an interesting 2 days ::eyeroll:: My son had the job Friday and the boy was testing him. He called, said they couldn't find the "Magic Triangle" and did he leave it here. Turned out the kid was sitting on it. Then he went to the interactive library and found Minecraft videos to watch. No I'm not sure what minecraft is (other than a video game), but it is basically like the kid watching TV during school. My son was not pleased.

Ron got the Social Security stuff faxed Friday.

Daughter had an OB appointment Friday. Her blood pressure is running high and they are concerned about preeclampsia. So if labs come back showing risk they will induce the baby early. (Somehow this is better for her than going to term). So we will have a September baby.

That's the news from here.

This is starting out like last fall. It was too dry and hot to get soil ready, then turned too wet and stayed that way for the rest of fall, winter and spring. I do however have 3 spots almost ready in the wildlife garden. If more rain gets here before I can finish, I will just plant a cover crop. I busted up my flower bed next to the highway. I have been planting flowers in the summer and Daikon radishes in the fall/winter trying to build the soil. I was happy by the way the soil looked. The soil is not great by no means, but much better looking than I expected. That area will get radishes again, it is about 7 x 75 foot bed. The area that I worked up before the rain is too soft and muddy to do anything with now, but it is going to get something planted in it before winter, even if I just stay at the edge and throw seed on top of the soil.

I tried to work a while this morning, but came in when the heat started building.

There is something magic about my recliner, I can sit down and be asleep in just a few minutes, no matter what time it is. Madge's recliner wont work like that, she can't go to sleep at any time.

It is 11:40 and I just managed to finish this weeks posts. Please give me a pat on the back, that I finished...

LOL

Moni over and out and good night