We just got back from 5 days in California for Terryl and Jordan's wedding. There had been no rain for close to 3 weeks before we left with temps in the 90's. While we were gone temps were over 100 every day with no rain except a passing sprinkle, high humidity. Now again there's no rain forecast for at least another week. It is a very hot, very dry summer. I know all the farm crops around here have been devastated and we're supposed to go to water rationing soon (our town is all well water, the aquifer is running low!) So my plants are suffering.

While we were gone the sunflowers by the back deck steps bloomed, and they look glorious! From the backyard it totally changes the look of the house and adds a lot of color and cheer. There are a half dozen plants ("planted" by mistake under the bird feeder as seeds fell) and two are in full bloom now with more on the way. They reach the height of the deck, over 5' tall!

We also have smaller flowers all around that area that are new this year, I assume they are strawflower (what was n the birdfeeder.) We will see!

My cukes in the veggie garden are an impressive 9 - 10" long, two of them. They are a lovely dark green but I heard not to pick them until they get glossy, so we'll wait another day or two. I have at least one small acorn squash.

Whenw e got back the peas had dried on the vine a bit, despite watering (they were done producing) so I picked them all, shelled them, boiled them, and made them into baby food for Iris. I got 10 overfull cubes yesterday not counting the one I gave her for lunch. Amy and Hank and all the kids ate themselves sick off the peas earlier so that was pretty impressive! I need to pull the vines down now.

I've weeded some more on the South side - everything is dead and gone on the corner where I'm going to plant some shrubs and annuals. I pulled most of the grass and sticker weeds from beind the calendula. We cut down the tree (birch? Elm? Who knows?) growing up inside the lilac there and it looks a ton better - be warned for next year that when I went to uproot the small trees growing through the lilac I discovered there were several large stumps underneath that have just been cut back each year instead of uprooted. BIG stumps. I wasn't seeing baby trees I was seeing new shoots. So I'm not sure what to do about that!

The day lillies in the back went through a shortish bloom and are now suffering from the heat and dry conditions. They have no blooms and are bent over and limp.

The black raspberries are past their prime but the red ones in back are coming into summer harvest. There aren't a ton of fruit but definitely some on each plant plus still some new green leaves for tea.

Tomorrow morning I will water and then harvest the calendula for drying. I"ll try to get some pictures too of how everything looks!