HOT!!! HOT!!! HOT!!!

Yep, it's summer in Central Texas. I'm NOT complaining, just commenting. It's hot, really hot, ridiculously hot. It's 9:30 p.m. right now and it is still about 95 degrees outside. At 6:30 this morning it was already OVER 80. We're hanging out in tripple digit heat during the day. It's only June. August and September are typically the hottest months of the year here. OH, and did I mention that rain just doesn't seem to exist here anymore? Yep, it's hot.

Soooo, what do we do all day long since it is generally recommended that you not spend much time outdoors between the hours of 10am and 4pm? Well, LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of playing! I'm trying to get creative. Besides finding about a million and one excuses to wander aimlessly through Target and Hobby Lobby (mostly not buying anything) I am trying to be creative at home. We have been frequenting the park - first thing in the morning (we're home by 10 - 'cause by then it's just TOO HOT). We've been making popsicles - yum! If you are interested, greek yogurt + fruit (or juice) + a pinch of sugar = popsicle. So far so good. Alex wants to make banana/choclate one tomorrow - only problem is we're out of bananas and chocolate.

We went to the beach last weekend - had so much fun we ended up staying an extra day. One of these days maybe we can do a long term stay of a month or so, wouldn't that be fun! The boys loved it.

Oh yeah, had to have the AC checked today - it's HOT, really HOT. They added a bunch of freon (it was about half full - or empty - depending on which way you want to look at it). That should get us through the summer. Probably have to replace the unit in the fall/spring (it's old). At least we can get the thing to cool off below 80 now (wasn't working too well this week).

Finally, a gardening note. It's HOT. Yep, hard to keep anything alive. So I should have harvested my corn before we went to the beach, it was overripe and half eaten by the time we got home. Not a failed experiment, just poorly managed. Will try again next year. Fish Emulsion fertilizer - nasty stinky disgusting stuff that plants LOVE - plus it's organic. Apparently raccoons like it too. They uprooted and killed one of my tomato plants - knocking the tomatoes off in the process, unplanted 2 of my herbs (I was able to save these). Hmmm, the plants need the fertilizer, how do I keep the raccoons away? I think all the plants are going to migrate to the front container garden anyway, not as much sun, and everything there does really well. I don't have much hope for more tomatoes though - how am I supposed to make my pizza sauce now???????

OK - I'll say the usual of check back for beach pictures. I fully intend to get them up but you all know that probably won't happen anytime soon!

Sunflowers

Pizza Garden

There was an article in the paper over the weekend about getting kids interested in gardening. Now, that's not actually a problem here. Alex LOVES to help me plant and water things. Ben loves to dump all of the dirt out of the pots and then poor water all over everything, so I guess he loves it too. (I'll also add that the little stinker has figured out how to turn on the spigot outside, oops!!) Anyway, the article was about planting things that would go on a pizza. It went into pretty thorough detail about even laying the garden out in the shape of a pizza with each vegetable, herb, etc. in it's own slice. The slices would be separated by a rock border or something. I thought it sounded like a fine idea. So, we did our own version of a pizza garden this weekend. Instead of a designated "pizza" shaped plot dug into the ground I opted to plant my pizza makings in pots. So, we've got tomatoes, bell peppers (purple), oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil, and rosemary all happily growing. We fought a fantastic nursery and the plants are just thriving. If I can figure out how to grow those tomatoes out here we'll be in good shape. (Tomato growing in TX is somewhat of an art, I have failed miserably at it in the past...) Anyway, Alex is very excited about the pizza garden and no doubt we will have fun watching it grow.

The pizza garden is actually a good start for my herbs. Not sure if I related my herb growing experience this year or not. I decided I would grow them in pots and start them from seed. I got all the stuff together, planted the seeds, watered properly and NOT ONE SINGLE SEED from 12 DIFFERENT kinds of herbs sprouted. How ridiculous is that?? Anyway, now I have six established plants, and they are doing beautifully. (In addition to the ones I listed already I also have some mint). Now I know where to go to get the rest of the herbs if I want.

All of our gardens are actually doing quite well this year, must be just the right conditions. Let's hope for a bit more rain so they keep looking good!

Oh, and one last gardening note, our edible gardening this year also includes corn, the one peach currently left on the tree, lemons, and, if they grow carrots, raspberries, and blueberries. I'm not holding my breath that the last 3 will actually produce fruit, but the plants at least look good at the moment.