SPRINKLERS, WATER BILLS AND TIME

My grandfather would sometimes drive my grandmother crazy by dragging the hose out to water the sidewalks near their home. He said it would cool down the whole neighborhood on really hot days. I think about him when Woof and I sit on the back porch stoop with the sprinkler watering the lily of the valley and a big chunk of the concrete walk. I bought one of those tall sprinkler things that shoots out a giant mist of water, and yesterday I had it in the middle of the garden where the wind was blowing it all over the place. I know a lot of people "mist" their plants. especially ferns, and I kinda think that does more good for the person spraying than it does for the plants.

I take over paying the water bill during the summer, since I'm the gardener in the household, and after several apoplectic incidents when the bill arrived in the past, I've learned to grab it right out of the mailman's hand before anyone sees it. It's been unusually dry...hard on the hydrangeas which are blooming profusely in spite of the drought. I have "nikko blue" and "annabelle" which is pure white. The lilies are in full bloom right now...some are about seven feet tall, while others are barely a foot. Most of them have an intense aroma that scents the whole garden now. Between the lilies and the gardenia and the sweet peas, our yard smells like the fragrance counters at Macys. Everybody in the garden is thirsty, and Woof and I are doing our best to keep everyone hydrated. Woof is a little weary of me with a hose in my hand...she's ever mindful that she could wind up getting a bath without much notice.

I hate to see June coming to a close....it seems like January and February are endless months for me, and May and June fly by in a quick flash. The plants are all settled in by now, my friend Kel says we plant in June, watch them grow in July, and start to harvest in August. Woof and I have already begun to pick cucumbers, so what's up with that.

It's a cool breezy morning with a warm up predicted for the rest of the week, so with weeds aplenty to pull and a dog giving me that "let's go" look, we're off.