A Break In The Weather

This week has been unbearably hot in the garden. Temperatures have hovered around 107. It has given me a headache and made me cranky.

 

 

Even though, I found a mailbox to store my hand tools in. It came complete with real fake flowers, which I promptly took out. It began life in a school as a Suggestion Box. It still had letters to the teacher in it: Mrs. Ledbetter*, I love you. Mrs. Ledbetter, you have beautiful hair. Mrs. Ledbetter, you are my favorite teacher. Mrs. Ledbetter, I don’t want to go to first grade because I will miss you too much. Charley was quite upset that Mrs. Ledbetter did not keep her love letters.

*Mrs. Ledbetter’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.

 

 

What would I do without Zinnias? They are just about all that is surviving the heat!

The Garlic Chives are bursting from their papery buds. Mid week saw a slight change in our weather pattern. High temps have been 98-97, with very pleasant early mornings and late evenings. It’s funny how subjective heat is. A few months ago, I would be sweltering at 98 degrees, but after days and days of triple digit temperatures, suddenly 98 seems almost a breath of fresh air! Sadly, we didn’t get any of the scattered showers the weatherman was promising, but other parts of Austin did.

 

The Morning Glories are stretching their blossomed heads to heaven.

Now that the temperatures have cooled slightly, I am seeing all that is growing and blooming in my garden.

The birds have almost stripped all the juicy berries of the Poke Salat.

The roses don’t seem to mind the heat.

But the Morning Glory leaves are looking fairly leathery and bleached out.

This morning as I gardened—yes, actually gardened, I looked up and saw the moon hanging onto it’s spot in the day-time sky.

Eutin is still putting out blooms.

As are the Four O'clocks.

 

The cats and I are enjoying watching the birds from our cool spot in the family room. Even thought the weather seems cooler at 98 degrees, it’s still too hot mid-day to be out for very long. I am enjoying reading some of your blogs telling me that the feel of Fall is in the air. It may be another month for us, but it gives me hope that cooler weather is coming.

Finding Their Wings

 

Three years ago, my daughter came with her two precious girls to live with us. She was broken in spirit and body. I can’t in all honesty say these past three years have been easy. The girls all have been suffering from various degrees of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as other problems. But, I would not have traded this time for anything in this world.

I have watched my daughter struggle to heal and find herself once more. I am so proud of her patience and protectiveness she shows for her daughters. She has gone from cleaning buildings to survive, to getting her teacher’s certificate and special training in teaching children with Autism.

 

I have watched as she paid off bad debts that she did not incur. I have watched with pride as she has fought to get her girls the kind of help that they needed—and continue to need.

 

 

Now I am watching as all three fly the nest to be on their own. As a parent, one of the greatest gifts we can give our children, is that of independence. Watching them fly strong and sure is our greatest joy…

 

I won’t let them see my tears as they move in their own direction. I won’t complain about the quiet house, or how neat and clean it will stay now. I want them to fly without a backward glance to make them falter.

Charley’s Note From Camp

 Dear Grammy,

Can you plees feed Bubbles 8 pellets EACH DAY?

He needs to be fed today. Also, make sure to give Special K some extra love.

LOVE YOU LIKE CRAZY,

CHARLOTTE

Charley

p.s. Frisky is Special K

p.s.s. Make sure to spend lots of time with Scratcher

p.s.s.s. Love you!

p.s.s.s.s. Popuh, don’t sing the ‘Little Fishes’ without me.

p.s.s.s.s.s. SQUIRRELS!

p.s.s.s.s.s.s. Bye!

 

As you can see, Charley loves to use exclamation points as much as I do! This is her first time away at camp so we are anxious to find out how she has done. What ten year old girl doesn’t love horses—especially a little “Tom-boy” like Charley. We haven’t gotten to talk to her all week, and can’t wait for her to come home so that we can learn how she is, and if she liked camp. 

p.s. In case you didn’t figure it out, Bubbles is Charley’s pet fish.

Where The Buffalo Roam

 

 

No, not the real thing. But, if you squinch your eyes…

and ignore the reminders of modern day…

You can almost feel like you have been transported back to the days when the prairies were alive and well, and the buffalo did roam where ever they wanted. 

 

And Native Americans lived in harmony with nature.

 

These metal sculptures were found at a rest stop in the southern edge of Iowa just before we passed into Missouri.

The Taste and Smell of Summer

 The summer is flying by. We are just getting back from our annual two week trek up to the north country. The week before that, we were busy with VBS. As soon as it was over, we packed our bags. Tucker and Kiefer tried to stow away in our bags, while Bo looked on with his face getting longer and longer. He was so morose by the time we left, we always get a case of the guilts for leaving him. Charley promised to let him sleep with her while we were gone.

We had a lovely time. First at the family reunion in Branson, Missouri, and then on to my mother’s in Illinois. We ate, and played. Shopped and antiqued, and lost track of time. We took our time going home, antiquing all the way home. We stayed at our favorite B&B in Kansas City and visited all our favorite antique shops and found some new ones. But, it’s good to be home. I missed our fur-babies and grand-kids terribly, not to mention the garden. By the time we got back from vacation, the daylilies were done. The garden looks like a jungle, and the temperature is nearing triple digits—so it will have to stay a jungle awhile longer.

Now the girls are getting ready for their camps. Charley to horseback riding camp with her best friend Sam. Libby with her best friend Becca to a beautiful camp in the mountains.

Summer is in full-swing. Lemonade stands and watermelon feasts. Pesto making parties and ice cream socials. Early morning gardening and Saturday afternoons is a cool dark movie theatre. What are you doing to celebrate the summer?

Sights and Sounds of Summer

Not only did Charley and her friend Sam make over twenty dollars at their lemonade stand, I had to make an emergency run to the store to replenish their supplies. They had people waiting for a cold glass of lemonade!

Flower?

Nope! Flour!