August has been brutally hot, although we did have about five lovely (life-giving) days last week. This upcoming week will erase that pleasant memory with some triple-digit heat. Making matters worse is how dry it is. My dusty ground looks like something you would see in the streets of an old Western movie.
As one who thrives on my time in nature and my native plant garden, I struggle when I see plants and critters struggling to stay alive, let alone flourish. I'm also experiencing a bit (a lot) of withdrawal from not being out and about with my camera photographing my favorite subjects, especially mountain streams with crystalline waters tumbling over mossy rocks. Oh, how I miss the sound… the smell!
The good news is that there is change in the air. A significant weather trend, with lower temperatures and hopefully some rain, promises to give us a break after this next week. All the berry-producing plants are heavily laden this year, a bounty for birds and visual candy for us two-legged types. We so often forget to add these berry-producing plants to our gardens. I encourage you to see what is available to plant in your part of the world.
In other good news, yesterday, I taught a class on Mosses at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens in Nashville for an enthusiastic group of people who wanted to know how to grow a Moss Lawn or Moss Garden. I brought along lots of moss samples with their corresponding names, as well as my favorite Moss ID books. We concluded our class by taking a pleasant stroll down the hill to the Japanese Garden, which has an extensive area of mosses at the entrance of one of the pavilions. We said our goodbyes, and I left feeling that I had successfully made a few moss converts.
I will stay positive during this period, knowing that conditions will improve soon. In the meantime, I will enjoy the Hummingbirds visiting my garden. Their acrobatics, as they dip and dive, guarding their territory around the Hummingbird feeders, are a source of constant entertainment. I keep fresh nectar (sugar and water) in their feeders, as it can quickly go bad in the heat. I will continue to water (as best as I can) my garden and container plants and keep my ground-level birdbaths filled with water. The surrounding birds, box turtles, and other wildlife will find a little oasis here to get them through the heat and drought.
I will also end this article with a photograph of a mountain stream with boulders so you can imagine that you are there now, taking a stroll beside it, taking your picture, or propped up on a boulder reading an engaging book.
Your title got me! Made me laugh. I am so glad it has cooled down for a bit right now. I'm not too far north of you in Missouri.
This week is going to be a tough one for sure. How grateful we all will be when it rains again! Beautiful pictures Paul!