Hot and Wet

Finally, a summer weekend.  Friday night we got lots of thunder and lightning, and 2.37 inches of rain!  That is more rain than we've had since June 1st til now.  And then Saturday another .37 inches.  Wow.  I'm being so precise because we have a new rain gauge that purports to measure to the nearest hundredth of an inch.  OK.  Thing is, we have definitely gotten enough rain for the next week.  All around the yard plants are breathing a sigh of relief, and putting on another inch or two of growth.  The Cannas suddenly realized it was time to bloom, and put forth flower stalks that have grown 6 or 7 inches in the last day. 

I took the opportunity to dig up some Hostas that were languishing under the creek overgrowth and moved them out to the new bed beneath the Birch.  Also dug some of the extra Gooseneck Loosetrife and moved it to a more prominent location along the path to the Willow.  Hope that isn't a mistake.  But they look really good there right now, and they are well behaved if checked back now and then with a little Round-Up. 

Last week there was a bat in the deck umbrella when I opened it one day.  I hoped that meant that bats had become inhabitants of this yard.  Tonight, the first hot evening of the year, I sat out on the deck through dusk until dark, and was thrilled to see at least two, maybe more, bats flying through the yard. 

The bare spots in the lawn look like they might recover with the new moisture.  I cut the lawn today, not really because it was in great need, but because I know it will spring into growth this week after the rain and with warm weather.  It's also a good time to pull w eeds, they mainly come out fairly easily.  The resisters will get a dose of WeedBeGone  once the threat of rain is gone, which will likely be after tonight. 

The fish in the pond seem to be almost as excited by the warm wet weather as I am.  I think they might be spawning.  There is certainly a lot of chasing and jumping and hovering and interacting going on. 

This is also the week when the Asiatic Lilies are in full bloom.  The Casa Blanca's at the front walkway are spectacular as usual.  And there are nice Stargazers around the yard also.  Daisies are done, for the most part.  Working on keeping the new Rhododendrons happy, so they survive the winter well.  The grasses we divided this spring are doing very well.  Been taking voice notes on my iPhone about things that need to be done this summer and fall as we prepare for Winter. 

Blooming well now are the coneflowers, the Joe-Pye Weed still good, the Butterfly Weed hanging in, Swamp Milkweed still doing well, and I did see a new larvae of a Monarch today, Sunflowers are really coming on, and the Hydrangeas are beautiful.  I'm disappointed about the performance of the Hydrangeas on the east side of the house - they don't seem to be blooming as well as I expected them to.