Is this crazy Austin weather, or should we consider this the new norm? That is anybody’s guess. But we are still in a heat wave. Today, Sat. Aug 17, 2019 is set to be the 26th day this season with 100+ degree weather. Kind of warm, what can I say.
One nice thing about the design of this new house is that we have a patio that is only open to sun on one side. In our case that means that it is in shade all the time. I don’t know how that will be in the winter time, but right now that means you can sit outside and still be in shade all day. It also means we can give the dogs a place to stay outside in the shade all day long. Yes, we keep a large gravity feed water bottle outside for the dogs so they always have fresh water.
The other nice thing about this patio area is it has steps down to the grass. Not many steps, just a couple. But the landing area and steps area means we actually have a small area that gets shade in the afternoon. The only other areas that get any shade are close to the wood fencing on the sides. I’ve used this area next to the landing to place my felt planting pots. If you saw the previous post you would have seen the area I’m talking about.
This area gets just enough shade that the plants in the pots are actually coming up. My peas, beets, and lettuce have all sprouted. I have to keep them well watered, but so far they are still alive and growing. In this weather I consider that an accomplishment.
Hopefully the weather service will be correct and we will get some relief from this heat later this month. But who knows if that will happen, and how much heat relief we will get.
Its Texas, just wait and see.