Its almost 3am. Ive been up for over an hour answering emails and thinking about this post. Normally I am sleeping but I decided to play automatic sprinkler system.
It has been so hot and so dry here in Central Texas that the word desperate has creeped into our daily vocabulary. We are desperate for the heat to break and desperate for rain. I am beginning to wonder what comes after the word desperate.
The forecast called this week for temperatures well over 100 degrees each day. And no rain. Just a repeat of all the days and weeks before it. We have grown accustom to the idea that rain will not fall today or tomorrow. We try to not think about how many days it has been this summer without rain. I remember not long ago being hopeful that somehow, someway this long hot streak would break. I don't feel that hope much anymore.
So last night, I was thinking about watering this morning. We are now on restriction and can only water on Wednesdays and Saturdays, we water all day long and it seems to change little. Everything is dry and in various stages of dying. I was thinking about how many days I have hand watered or moved a sprinkler over the past month and a half. I thought about those around me that had the ease of automatic sprinkler systems and how nice and green their lawns looked while mine struggled. Mine was desperate. Yesterday, I mowed what little grass we have watered. It was like mowing dirt. Dust went everywhere. Its a very sad thing to experience.
That's when I decided to play automatic sprinkler system. I set my alarm for 12:30am (well into Wednesday morning in case the law did a drive by) and then went outside to start the sprinkler. I know there are those lawn enthusiasts that would say you should never water at night. It is probably bad for the grass. They may be right but I know watering during the day, when the temperature is close to that of the surface of the sun, is also bad for the grass. So we will try something different. Seriously, when you are desperate for water, what can it hurt?
The sprinkler has been going now for two hours and having just checked it, I can see no standing water on the ground. How dry my piece of this Earth has become.
I will move the sprinkler to another location in an hour and delight yet another piece of my Earth. When the light of day arrives, I'll hand water the tomato plants, sunflowers and peppers. That's all that remains of my garden. I pulled the corn plants and half of the tomato plants to focus on the new starts that will struggle through the rest of July and August in hopes of a yield after the heat of this summer releases us from its grip.
It wasn't a bad idea to get up in the middle of the night to play with the sprinkler. The world is quiet and the air cooler. The perfect time to be outside. I think both the grass and I will get something out of this bright idea of mine.
Two thumbs up. :)
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