Last week was the hottest week we have had since moving here to Oklahoma. All week it was over 102° F and dry. Fortunately, the temperature dropped on Saturday and it is a little bit cooler this week. Last week, I cooked a lot but this week it was too hot for cooking. My apartments were built in the 1960s and I think my air conditioner is also from that time period. So it doesn’t quite keep up with the super hot weather. It tries but it can’t do the thing. It is also spider season here in Oklahoma. They’re everywhere in the late summer and the yellow garden spiders are by far the most common. I don’t mind them since they eat other insects I don’t want, such as grasshoppers. The grasshoppers are absolutely out of control and we will be grateful if they leave anything in the garden. I’ve really never seen so many in one place and I hope we can get it under control before they have babies. Apparently, grasshopper mating season is coming soon. Between the extreme heat and grasshoppers, there are a few things that are still doing well. The scarlet sage, black eyed Susans, coneflowers, shasta daisies, mist flower, and Turk’s cap were all still blooming. The hibiscus and lantana are alive but not blooming. We got more protective bags for the fruit trees to save them from the grasshopper invasion. They are effective and we’re seeing some new growth on them. Because it was so hot, the creek on our property was totally dry. We went there and grabbed a bunch of big rocks. We also found a leaky oil pipe near the creek bed. I drew a shark for shark week although I didn’t have time to color it. I hope everyone has a happy August.
Lisa Ledbetter 