rain

Well, it DID rain. Our fancy-schmancy, Christmas-gift rain gauge measured an official .14 of rain yesterday.

That’s something.

And, the temperatures dropped to 97 for the high, instead of 102, so, that’s something, too.

(I don’t mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but honestly…it ain’t much. And it certainly ain’t enough.)

But, it’s all we got and I’m just going to say, “thank you,” and turn the sprinklers back on. (At night on my appointed day, mind you, because we are under water rationing as we are every summer.)

Did I mention that I’m ready for Fall?!

I hope.

Sure looks like some rain is out there headed our way. Last night we tried to fool Mother Nature by leaving the umbrella up and some lounge chair cushions out…but it didn’t work.

I just put the cushions away. I’m giving up on the superstitions. I’m just going to go outside and do a naked rain dance instead. (Just kidding!) But I’m almost desperate enough to do it.

And, because I can’t go out and take just one picture, here are a few shots of some plants that are happy in the heat.

This is a Hyacinth bean vine that was sent to me by my blogging friend, Michelle. It is on the fence of the new lily garden bed.

And this is my Pavonia, tucked into the same bed, and safely out of the way of munching deer who’ve always eaten them before!

Well, I guess this is winter for us here in Central Texas. At 10:30 a.m., it is gray and overcast and we’re having a light rain. (which is good for us because a real rain usually turns into flooding here very quickly). It’s 41 degrees and the forecast says it will get to 65, but I think they are mistaken! The bad news: as this front blows in this afternoon, we are also on the lookout for severe thunderstorms, hail and possible tornadoes as cool air meets warm air.

We need the rain – after last summer’s endless rain, we’ve now been exceptionally dry all fall and winter. So, right now, our gardens are pretty happy. I’m not sure how happy they’ll be (little daffodils and such) if we get heavy storms and hail.

So, I’m inside blogging (instead of at the soccer game which was cancelled – yeah!) and about to try again to bake a pie for my husband’s birthday today. The first one didn’t set yesterday — buttermilk pie — but the crust was good and that’s the bane of my existence. I’m a really good cook, but I can’t bake. And he loves pie, so every few years I try, try again. Today, literally, again!

After what feels like a lifetime of drought here in Central Texas, I feel ashamed to be wishing the rain away. (But I am.) Coneflowers and zinnias and hibiscus sit in pots around the yard, awaiting my attention — begging to be placed in their new homes. And somehow, the rain always coincides with the time of day I have planned to work outside! And even though the tomatoes and cucumbers are growing like crazy, (see them spilling out of their beds in the picture above) some of the more drought-tolerant blooming perrenials are a little less than happy with the excessive water and lack of sunshine. Even the tropicals are showing signs of very wet feet. But I know that sometime in August or September it will be hot and dry and our plants and pocketbooks willl be glad to have had the rain as long as they did. So, for the time being, I will work in, and around, the rain, and be grateful for nature’s bounty … and her rather odd behavior this summer.