Author: Cat C L

Yes, I know. Its been a while. We made it home from our trip. The trip was great – wonderful cool weather, good food, good company, and fabulous new places.

What we came home to wasn’t quite so fabulous. Apparently it was hot while we were gone. Triple digit hot. So since we were not around to give plants the extra water they needed, we lost stuff. The cucumbers are toast (yup that’s what they looked like) as were some of the squash plants. Apparently one of the connectors came undone, so out of about 8 squash plants only 2-3 sort of survived. One is doing okay, but I’m not sure the other two will survive. And the corn is entirely dead. Oh well.  Did not lose a single tomato plant, but they were a bit worse for the wear. And some of the strawberry plants didn’t make it – not enough water.

Now that we’re back I am watering some of the plants to see how well they’ll survive. Also we’ve cooled down to the low 90’s (that’s Texas for you, low 90’s is cool) and with the extra water some plants are coming back. For instance, with the extra water some of the squash plants are putting out new squashes. Some of the tomatoes are starting to ripen. Even the strawberry plants are perking up with extra water.

But since its been a while and we’re coming into our second growing season, I think it may be time to feed. I’ll try to do that this week or next weekend. Oh, and didn’t lose a single pepper plant. But the red on the vine peppers are edible, hot but not as hot as they were green.

Yes, the comfortable temperatures we had are gone. Austin area has hit the mid to high 90’s already. Yesterday’s high hit 93, with a heat index of 100. Our low – 74. Its warm out there. Plants are not growing well. Though some tomatoes are getting red, many are just sitting there green on the plant. Last year we left them on the plants, and when the weather began to cool they all started ripening. We do have some yellow tomatoes that are ripe, but again, most of the plants are just trying to hold their own.

On the other hand we are having a wasp problem. We have found many more wasp nests than we normally do. And some have been big nests. They are high up under the eaves and difficult to spray. But hopefully the spraying will work and they won’t come back. It does help that Bill knocked some of the nests down. I’m just hoping the wasps don’t come back and build new nests.

I’ve also noticed a lot more young fawns still. And quite a few twins this year. Some of the bucks are already beginning to get velvet on their antlers. I feel for the does. They still have fawns nursing and its not that long until the rut will start all over for them. At least there is still a lot of greenery around for them to feed on. And I don’t mind if they eat, as long as they stay out of my back yard. 

I actually gave these away to a friend. Though we did keep a few of the carrots for dinner.  They were good. The carrots had been growing in a big barrel. So after harvesting I planted more seeds.

The squirrels made it into the corn. Anything close to ripe has been eaten. There are corn cobs strewn across the ground.

Consequently, the boys are now building a metal structure around the corn. Something that will hopefully keep the squirrels out. I sure hope so.  We lost last years’ crop of corn to squirrels, I would like to get some this year. And the corn is growing, and it is starting to ripen. So I’m sure the squirrels are hiding out holding their stuffed bellies. I hope they get belly aches.

In response to these little nasty critters, the boys are building a metal cage around the corn. The cage is about 8 feet tall and covers the entire bed. They said they’ll put in a door so we can get in and pick the corn.  I sure hope so. But we still still have something of a problem – can those nasties get under the cage? Can they dig their way under the bottom? That remains to be seen.

One other problem. The watermelons and cantaloupes are getting real cozy with the tomatoes. Yes, there is a walkway between them, but both sides are growing and reaching out towards the other bed. Right now you cannot walk between the tomato bed and the melons. I think they have already intertwined. Oh well. Pictures of these will have to be taken later – its raining again.

It is 80 degrees outside and pouring. Its one of those short downpours. You know the kind – quarter inch of rain in about 10 minutes.   That kind.  Its only Wednesday and we’ve had 2.47 inches this week so far. Gotta love Texas weather.

Yes, we had sunshine yesterday and today. And with luck we should have it for this week. Though of course that means its a bit warmer, 84 by mid afternoon, but the humidity is not too bad. It could mean summer is around the corner too. Not my favorite, but it will come one way or the other.

Last month, May we had over 6 inches of rain here at the house. And we had about 3-1/2 inches just last week alone. And other areas around here got more rain that we did.  We had many times where we got just the edge of the storm. We could watch lightning all around us, and just feel light rain here. But it’s nice to have a break.

Now for what has happened with the plants. Some of the irises are trying to bloom. So are some of the bluebonnets. Most of them did their thing before the rain, but some were truly late bloomers. Though we got some wind, not enough to cause damage here at the house. We were lucky there.  But everything is growing now. The “lawn” is tall and needs a hair cut. Its really weeds, not much grass.  I had thrown wild flower seed and buffalo grass seed out there over a year ago, so that is what our “lawn” is.

But the apple tree is doing fine, still has apples. Though the animals have been pecking and chewing at some of the fruit. The strawberries are bearing again. The peas are shot, they need to be pulled. The lettuce, well I’ve been pulling most of it up. We had enough heat that most of it bolted. Tore the onions out finally. But the corn is growing gang busters, some of the tomatoes are even ripening. And the squash plants have blossoms. We have peppers already – both bell and jalapenos. Its amazing what this much rain will do for a yard. I’ll try and get out and take pictures.

Oh, one problem. The bunnies and the squirrels seem be making friends with each other. That’s not good. The squirrels are showing the bunnies where to get into the yard. At least we have so much greenery around that the bunnies have not ravaged my plants too badly.

Okay, we got rain. So far we’ve had over 7 inches here at the house this month. In the past 12 hours we’ve had about 2 inches of it. And that’s not been a nice slow drizzle. We’ve had some short down pours in there. At one point we had power outages, just from the rain. They say Travis Lake rose 7 ft in 12 hours. That’s a lot of rain.

Even I-35 was closed for a while due to water over the freeway.

Blanco River at midnight was at just over 32 feet, flood stage is 13.  Its due to crest at 41.

So you rain dancers please take a break. I know you are due to begin your dance again tomorrow. Meanwhile, give us a break please!

This morning we’ve had a tornado watch, a tornado warning, a possible tornado sighted in Blanco, and 27 MPH gusts. And its raining. And the who thing has happened in less than an hour. But we’ve got rain. My planters are flooded. But I guess the plants will be happy – sort of. The corn is now leaning due to the wind and rain. They will probably straighten up with some sun and a chance to dry out. With luck we should get less rain the next few days, so maybe some sun. Maybe sun during part of the day and rain later? Who knows. But its weather.

Yes, happy Mother’s Day. A doe just dropped twins outside in front of my office.  Can’t get a picture of them as I’ve up above them and I have plants growing. But I can see them from my office.

Which is better than the bunny in the back yard we’ve seen over the past few days. Though both will enjoy eating my garden.