NOT a Dark and Stormy Night

Yesterday, I waited all day here at the Lovestead in hopes of the water (from the skies) to break.  Didn't happen here.  

Over at my friend Roxane's just a mile or so away, some droplets hit the roof of her indoor arena while we packed my winter's supply of shavings bags into our pickup bed. 

Twenty-six bags of shavings and about 27 drops of rain later, I drove home where the sprinkler was putting out the only water that was gonna fall on our farm yesterday.

After fighting off bees, I happily toted each bag to its resting place in the back of the barn.  Great feeling of satisfaction when one more item on the winter supply list is checked off. 

As the day moved on, all around us, skies continually looked pretty intimidating, but just like the Mariners last night, the promise of success fell short. 

In spite of no rain, the skies and land around us provided some pretty scenes, especially those clouds in the northwest over toward my sisters' farm.  Maybe they reaped a little rain for their fields. 

Anyway, hopes for a good dousing of relatively dry and eaten-down pastures have now blown on to the east, and we're getting ready to endure another heat wave----several days in the 90s again, starting Thursday. 

So, I'm guessing I won't be taking any artful sky pictures again for a while.  Instead, it will more trips to the mountains during the evening hours when this place gets so unbearable. 

The plus side----maybe those iddy biddy pumpkins the deer left on my manure-pile patch will have a chance to grow.  

I've been covering the pumpkin with Lefty's horse blanket every night, and, unlike my carrots----which took a big hit when those well-trained teeth ate through the netting Sunday night----the pumpkin plants have had some relief from their nightly attacks. 

Fortunately, the garden fence has held up this summer in protecting most of my best garden ever.  The deer have finished off most of a wandering squash vine which thought it needed to stray outside its protective area. 

Inside the protective area, that corn is standing about 7 feet high now, and the tomato jungle with oodles of huge fruits is not far behind.  I have a feeling we'll be eating from both pretty soon. 

So, all is not bad with this summer of extended HOT flashes. 

Looks like if we get through this upcoming stretch, we'll at least get some more relief temperature-wise.  And, that will be welcome.

Happy Tuesday.