The cat days of summer

Dog days of summer? Here on Stratheden Farms, its the Cat Days of Summer that have arrived. Felines loll about listlessly, languid in the heat. Daytime temperatures have been in the high 80s and a brush or two with the 90s, night lows as hot as 70F (this morning). Humid at night and dry in the day. In the middle of the day its too hot to do anything but lay around. Last night after watering the garden about 6:30 p.m., Mr. Fuzzy came into the house and felt chilled even though the house was a warm 77F. Indeed it had been warm outside.

There have been thunderstorms on almost all directions for the last three evenings at sunset, close enough to hear the thunder and enjoy the lightning, but not a drop of rain landed here. The National Weather Service has issued severe weather alerts in the area, some places have not only received rain but hail.

Plants in pots on the patio need daily water supplements. And a new source of clean mineral free water has been available from running two dehumidifiers, one on the basement and one upstairs; they wring approximately six gallons of water from the air in each 24 hours.

UPDATE: not three hours after posting this, a line of violent thunderstorms came through with abundant lightening, stunning thunder and 1/3 of an inch of rain.





In the garden, the tomatoes seem to appreciate the conditions but none of the other flora... winter squash are alright, as are the corn and cucumbers. Oddly, the chile and bell pepper plants are not happy at all. Most of the rudbeckia from last year survived and are blooming their hearts out but the plants are smaller than usual.

may your summer be blessed in every way -