Saturday, October 8, 2011

Waiting for Sprinkles

I am emotionally driven by the idea of rain. 

It's been a lazy Saturday morning (thank god), which I've needed more than anything. I woke up late-ish: 8:30. The girls spent about 30 minutes nuzzling me, convincing me to get up with little kisses. A bowl of cereal and cup of coffee with gingerbread cocoa mixed in helped me to muster up some energy while browsing the day's news online. But despite riveting stories of how I'm losing more money in my investments, how our politicians are still too damn proud to frickin work together, and a few video clips of Steve Jobs's commencement speech, I found myself compulsively checking weather radars. 


This drought is taking a serious toll on my project therapy. Another coral honeysuckle meets it's end.


One of my most impressive specimens, one of two 6 foot+ butterfly bushes, hasn't died and is actually  sending out new leaflets in the "cooler" temperatures but is draped in wrinkled, burned leaves from the summer. Several of the branches have died, but I'll prune those when when fall actually shows its face.


 My raspberry salvia greggi has chosen to bloom for the first time since maybe March, but it's neighbor - a dwarf silver sage that used to produce the most beautiful bright blue flowers - shriveled up despite being watered.
























My red bud's foliage is taking on interesting stress patterns. I have babied this tree for 3 years now, and strangely enough, even with the horrible drought, my constant attention has allowed the tree to keep leaves all the way into October! Both previous summers the leaves turned black by July and fell off well before fall ever arrived. 

I AM A GARDENER!!!!!! But I can't bring myself to garden when I know my efforts are futile.

For about 2 minutes, it rained hard at my house. When I heard those first few drops on my chimney, my eyes actually welled up a bit I was so excited. I literally ran out to the back porch so I could feel the drops in my hair, on my face, through my shirt. A few seconds of standing in the rain and I got to see something I haven't in almost a year: water shooting out of the gutter spout! When we bought the house it was gutterless. $800 later our house was equipped for the torrential flooding we will apparently never see. My rain barrel stands without purpose. Does anyone else have fingers crossed for category 5 hurricane? How is it possible that virtually the entire state of Texas is seeing rain or has seen rain in the last month or so, and Austin is still being savagely punished? 

I'm going to continue with my lazy Saturday but with the TV muted and the music stopped in case I am so lucky to hear a few more sprinkles. 

































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