On 8/24/2017 9:08 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 8/24/2017 7:10 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 8/23/2017 3:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
If you're like us you're gardening at dawn and sunset. We're
constantly getting temperatures in the high nineties. Just to hot for
us old gardeners.

We are expecting a little rain and perhaps some temps down in the
seventies and eighties, we hope. Weather heads here seldom hit the
golden bell and, most likely, they're takingÂ* wild guesses as we are.

The water bill and the electric bills have gone up double size during
the July/August times. Our AC seems to be running constantly this
summer. Our HOA lets us only have black roofs, dumbest rule I ever
heard. Native Texan and I want a white roof, at least some heat will
be pushed away from entering the attic and seeping down into the rest
of the house.

We water at sunrise and sunset, just to give the water a chance to be
taken up by plants and to soak into the soil for a bit. You can tell
it is hot when the St. Augustine grass is starting to turn brown due
to heat. St. Augustine will grow on concrete given a little water and
some shade. G

At any rate, we are still getting a cantaloupe here and there and few
puny sweet chilies. Tomatoes have gone to the composter as have many
other vegetables. The kumquat tree is full of little fruit, second
crop after a January freeze killed all the blooms then. Have one
lousy pear on the pear tree and the fig tree has nothing, a freeze
split it in half, so we may have to get another fig tree.

I keep track of our old home in Louisiana and I see them getting
rain, getting clouds to alleviate the heat and I miss that climate.
Moved here to be close to kids, grands, and great grands and, since
most of them work, we seldom see them. Can't convince the Boss Lady
that we should move back to Louisiana. She has gotten fully
entrenched into this community and intends to stay. Oh well, she's
getting some paying jobs teaching senior citizens how to draw and
paint so I shouldn't complain.

The dog and I don't mind being house bound as we can take a nap when
we want to. G

George

We're still right here in The Holler ... I've been harvesting some
okra and tomatoes about every other day , doing site prep and digging
post holes for our new deck , working on my motorcycle (and riding
hers) , and cutting/splitting/stacking firewood for the coming cold
season . The wife has been working at Walmart and reading when she's
off ... she hates the place but feels locked in until February when
she can start drawing her SS . We did manage an overnight trip to
Branson for dinner and a show (Hughes Brothers) for our (44th)
anniversary last week . I've decided to keep her ...

Â*Â* --

Â*Â* Snag

I seldom shop at Walmart. Mostly because of the sad looking older women
I see at the registers. Plus most of their products come from some
country I never heard of and I've traveled the world for years. I did
recently buy a new office chair and Walmart delivered it by UPS. Nothing
was said about Walmart when I bought it. Weird. My old, thirty year old
chair, is now a roll around plant carrier. There's always something good
in letting good old stuff go. At least the wife's happy.

We will be married 57 years come December 26th and, so far, we're still
living and loving. We ain't as purty as we were in 1960 when we married
but we get along pretty good, still. She's gone teaching art a lot but
the dawg and I get some really good naps in while she is out. Plus she
enjoys the teaching and I enjoy the money she brings home. We're some of
the better off elders, we own everything we have, have some money in the
bank, are close to our kids, grands, and great grands, and, best of all,
we don't have to fly home from some weird country to see them. All the
travel was a lot of fun and learned a lot from folks in strange
countries but being home with your get is a lot better plus we don't
have to pack and run when some idiot decides he or she will run the
country we were in. I do love my time in the oil patch but love my
retirement even more. Oops, the boss is ringing the breakfast bell.

George

You and I are contemporaries with similar situations. My gardening
today is practically nil due to age issues, shade and deer. Formally
large garden has been reduced down to a few tomato plants. Too much
rain has been bad for them and they are pooping out early.

In spite of all the rain this summer, my next door neighbors well pooped
out and he had to drill a new one. Poor guy's grandfather just died and
back in January his wife was severely injured by a tree that fell on her
and the house. I've taken down any tree that might threaten the house
and tell everyone the same. We sometimes get hurricane remnants here in
Northern Delaware and sometimes tornado or tornado force winds and I
have seen a lot of houses damaged. I actually saw a tornado take out a
nearby school gym maybe 25 years ago.

Reading about the storm threatening Texas I hope you are not in the path.