Dying Of Thirst

Drought is a terrible thing. It's been a hot, dry summer in many places. I know we're not alone, but that doesn't make it any easier. We've had only a sprinkle of rain in over two months and there's none in the forecast. Still, looking at forecasts and temperature records doesn't give a real idea of what drought looks like.

No this isn't straw that we've spread on the ground. This is the grass in our front yard. It's crunchy when you walk on it.

Last year our Crepe Myrtle looked like this.

Now it looks like this.

In March our cherry tree was beautiful in bloom.

Now it's in real trouble.

The Forsythia last year.

The Forsythia now.

These guys have disappeared. We hope they're hiding underground. We've seen no toads or frogs this summer at all. Very unusual.

But not everything is dying. Some plants are thriving in the yard.

Some insects are doing well, too. The dragonflies are swarming in the yard and we and the dogs are getting used to being hit by them as they fly in circles.

The ticks are thriving. We had a warm winter followed by at hot dry spring and summer and ticks love that weather pattern. We're taking extra precautions to protect the dogs.

We're also trying to help out the wildlife that is suffering from the heat. The birds are enjoying the fountain for drinks and quick baths. We're see the squirrels drinking from the fountain, too and one day I watched a small lizard climb up for a drink.

We hope that Mother Nature gets over this bad mood that she's been in and brings us some cooler temperatures and some days of nice steady rain. No thunder, please.