Drought August

 My July post was called Dry July, but now we've gone past dry, and all the way over to drought. We are currently in extreme drought condition, with no end in sight. Lawns are brown, trees and shrubs are fading, and my whole garden is struggling. I've been watering frequently, but there's only so much you can do at this point. In my garden, drought conditions always bring disease and pests right along with it. But you all know I don't like to show any ugly spots. Instead, I'll show you the good stuff, and you just pretend that's all there is. 

Even with an ongoing drought, butterflies are frequent visitors in August. I still haven't seen as many monarchs as I would like, but they did leave eggs on my milkweed. I currently have about 20 chrysalides waiting to pop, and tomorrow I may see about 6 of them emerge. Fun! 

Monarch laying eggs on balloon milkweed

Monarch eggs gathered! 

Hungry monarch caterpillars waiting for fresh milkweed 

Newly released monarch

August also brings a veggie party to Robin's Nest. It's been a feast of vegetables around here, but it sure makes a lot of work for me in the kitchen. I can hardly keep up with the tomatoes lately! But come winter, when I reach into the freezer and find sweet garden tomatoes waiting to be turned into something summery to eat, I'll be glad that I took the time to prepare them. The cantaloupes have been a big surprise. I mentioned the cantaloupe last month, but doubted I would get a successful harvest. I shouldn't have doubted it! I am duly impressed at how well they turned out, and how sweet and delicious they are. I'd like to try again next year, but I fear that if I grow them on purpose, they won't turn out. These were grown by accident, and simply popped up from the compost enrichment we gave to my roses. 

For some reason, my zinnias were underwhelming this summer. I don't know if I chose poorly performing varieties, or what, but the only ones that really turned out well are the Cut and Come Again that I always plant in the veggie garden. Even the Oklahoma Salmon barely bloomed. The sunflowers went wild in one spot, then barely came up in others. Of course the ones that really went crazy are taking over my walking path! I don't care, I just go around, because no flower makes me smile as much as sunflowers. 

Here's the part where I've zoomed into small areas of flowers that are still worth looking at. Truth be told, they're often surrounded by something brown nearby. With the drought, we've also had high temperatures, and it's been too hot for me to do much gardening except for watering. Hopefully September will cool off, and I can catch up on my garden cleanup. 

During these hot days, I've been catching on my reading, and other indoor pursuits. I found these tiny little birdhouse stakes to paint, and as usual, I switched out my tray decor. I haven't cooked or baked much, but my summer craving for peach desserts finally got the best of me, and I made myself these peach hand pies. I've never made them before, so they aren't pretty, but boy are they tasty! I just popped them into the freezer for summer splurging. 

The sunsets have been mostly subdued during this dry stretch, so I'll leave you with these two. Thanks for stopping by to visit my Nest. I so appreciate it! Hope to see you back here again at the end of September.  

 

Dry July

The summer drought continues here in our corner of central Ohio. We've joked for years about how someone puts up a dome over our house every summer, but it's really no joke these days. The lawn is dormant and brown, and I can only imagine what my water bill will look like, with my constant watering. Yes, I do try to grow flowers that are drought tolerant. But container gardens, lawns, veggie gardens, and new plantings will always need the boost of frequent watering. If I knew for certain we lived in a dry climate, I would change the way I garden. But winters are generally wet, sometimes summer is too. However, the summers are trending dryer every year. Many of my perennials are paying the price, despite my care. But you won't see any photos of the weak spots. If you look closely at the included photos, you will see the struggling lawn. It's a sad sight, and you know how much suburban husbands dislike a bad lawn. Hubs is not at all happy about it. 

Despite the dry weather, butterflies visit often. July is usually when I start to see an increase in their numbers. However, my favorite butterfly, the monarch, is seldom seen. In total, I've seen about ten. I have raised and released 13 monarchs, but they came from only 2 actual butterfly visitors. But various other beauties do stop by, and I rarely pass up on opportunity to photograph them. 

I have a fondness for all of the critters that visit Robin's Nest. Even though some of them may nibble at my plants, I still welcome them. Goldfinches delight the eyes, but they tear the petals off of zinnias and sunflowers to get at the seeds. I wish they wouldn't do that! 

You may have seen some of these containers in my other posts, but the heat and sunshine have made quite a difference over the last month. These are definitely my success stories for the season. I do have a few failures, but again, I refuse to photograph them. Instead, I'm going to tweak them until I'm pleased again. But will the nurseries still have any interesting annuals for me? We shall see! 

However, plants grown in the ground can be a challenge in my organic garden. By late summer I often see an increase in disease and insect problems. My theory is that in my efforts to garden organically for butterflies,  I have then allowed other insects and diseases to proliferate. Makes sense, doesn't it? But it can be so frustrating. Featured here will be the highlights, when in peak bloom, with problems left out of the photos. Look away from that brown lawn, personally I like to pretend it isn't there. 

But even in a dry July, the veggies are at their peak production stage. We currently have carrots, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, and zucchini all in steady rotation in the kitchen. Yum! This is the first time we've grown beets, we used a variety called Baby Beets. We'll definitely be growing these again. If you ever do grow this particular variety of beet, the package simply said to roast them whole, with olive oil, salt and pepper. No need to even bother removing the skin. Very tasty! As for the cucumbers and tomatoes, we're eating these multiple times a day. I almost forgot, we don't grow cantaloupe here on purpose. It often shows up from our compost, and it's always amusing where it pops up. This year, there's even one in the rose garden! But we have never managed to successfully harvest a cantaloupe. Maybe this is the year. 

I did do some exploring around town this month, starting with a visit to the corpse flower at Franklin Park Conservatory. I managed to visit at exactly the right moment, during its full bloom. While it was indeed stinky, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. Plus it was far more beautiful than I thought it would be. Recently, while visiting Easton Town Center, I discovered this charming butterfly garden area, nearly hidden between buildings. It was well executed, with a mix of host plants and pollinator favorites. But I have to admit I haven't seen any butterflies there yet. One day, I stopped at Blacklick Woods on a whim, and found liatris in bloom everywhere I looked. I think I'm the only one who noticed! Lastly, I've gotten into the habit of stopping by Chestnut Ridge on my home from yoga on Tuesday nights, to watch the sunset. This park is such a favorite of mine, just peaceful and relaxing in all seasons. 

Franklin Park Conservatory

Easton Town Center

Easton Town Center

Blacklick Woods

Chestnut Ridge

Chestnut Ridge

Chestnut Ridge

I must admit that we actually did have a rain event earlier in the month. On July 3rd, we got 2 inches of rain, and I nearly danced with joy. But it made little impact honestly, there hasn't been any since. It was the only measurable rain we've had all summer. At home, I changed out my tray decor, sautéed up a melange of garden veggies, worked up a CREATE sign for my craft room, and baked some chocolate zucchini bread with a large zucchini that got away from me. 

And here we are at the end of the month already. July flew past, I'm just not quite sure how. It's funny how my days are full, they go by, but I can't always say exactly what I was up to. But when I check in with my photos, I can get a sense of my days. Maybe it's a zen way of living, taking it slow and easy, savoring the days as they come. And so it goes in Robin's Nest. Enjoy my sunsets, but maybe go out and find your own too. Apropos for a zen life, I think.