Hi, thanks for stopping by! I’m Jeanne, intrepid daydreamer, sharing my thoughts and experiences about this Happy Life we all seek. Join the discussion, challenge my thoughts, share your wisdom!
The entire east coast has been through a scorching heat wave. I know, I’ve been smack in the middle of it. Heck, I come up here from Louisiana every summer to get away from the heat. What’s going on?
My mind doesn’t function very well when it’s cooking. I thought I’d share the thoughts that have been passing through it this past week or two . . .
Must . . . have . . . water. Water . . . please. . . say the gardens. I hear you. I’m coming, hose in hand. Hang in there, here comes the water. Don’t give up. Here it is. . . Ah, that must feel good. Now if only someone would water ME. Oh wait, I have a hose. Think my boss would object if I hose myself down? Probably. This is a family campground, no wet T-shirt contests here. Oh, well. I can water down my head, at least. Oh, yeah, call me the Wethead Gardener.
Good grief, I finish watering one garden and I hear the cries of the others. OK, OK, I’m coming, hold your horses! God, please don’t let the well run dry! Too many gardens, not enough early morning hours to do this watering. Can’t water in the heat of the day, what a waste of time that is. All right, then, I can work a split shift: start watering at 5:30 am (when it’s light enough to see what I’m doing), water til around 11 am. Knock off until 7pm, water until 9pm when it gets dark. This way I should be able to hit each garden three times a week.
Geez. Three times a week. Unheard of around here. For the past three years it’s been a once-a-week thing. Last summer we only had ONE 90-degree day, and that was in June. Mother Nature, what ARE you up to? I thought we were friends, working hand in hand. What’s that, you say? You take care of what YOU plant, and I take care of what I plant? Damn. I guess that’s fair, but still, aren’t we partners?
Wilted, are you, little plant? Why? I just gave you mucho water. Why aren’t you perking up? Oh, yeah. It’s too darn hot to be perky. I know I’m not. I’m moving as slowly as possible, trying to conserve energy. I’m looking for things to do in the shade. I’m wilting too. OK then, wilt away, but I know it’s not from lack of water. It’s just the heat. Big heat. Triple-digit heat that we’re not used to up here.
It’ll pass. I know it will. One of these days the rain the forecasters promise will actually arrive. That’s when I’ll see the miracle of Mother Nature again. Well water is OK for plants, it keeps them alive, but it’s chlorinated. Rain water, on the other hand, must be like nectar of the gods, because the plants come alive, go greener, blooms are brighter, stalks are straighter, after a good rainfall. It’s like they say “finally, REAL water!”
Here I am, fighting the heat for the gardens, then taking flight into my own little air conditioned space, adapting to the situation by changing up my schedule. And that’s what Denis Waitley said in one of his lectures: it’s no longer simply a matter of fight or flight, nowadays we often must adapt. He’d be proud of me, doing all three!
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Tags: adapting, Gardening, heat wave, mother nature, watering
Categories: Gardening