Drought

There is a serious drought going on here.  I'm sure by now most of you have seen it on the news or heard about it somehow, but Texas is about to break its own record for days in a row above 100 degrees.  Last week was nearly unbearable, even for me, with temps over 107.  I'm good until about 105...I've discovered that is my threshhold. 

As it turns out, *most* plants do not like that type of heat.  There are some amazingly resilient plants that thrive here, though.  I've shown pictures before of the Crape Myrtles, which bloom in the hottest part of the summer.  They are currently showing off splashes of pink, purple, red and every color in between all over town.  Despite no water, the pecan trees seem to be in perfect health, with tight green pods busy developing those yummy nuts we'll get to pick in late October.  Though my other plants are choking (I've had to be really careful with these guys, offering them water every night and shade during the hottest parts of the day)

other plants in the garden are absolutely thriving.  Like these guys:

Can you guess what they are?  PEANUTS!!!  These guys are so much fun!  I was spreading some composted manure the other day and accidentally pulled up a developing peanut.  SO CUTE!!  I love planting strange things so we can learn new things.  These guys are also pretty happy:

Since the heat kicked in, this jalapeno plant has been putting out much smaller peppers, but Allan said that if a pepper undergoes stress, it is even hotter.  I imagine these must be the hottest peppers on earth.  HA! 
These guys have required a tad more help and water, but LOVE the sunshine:

That box had sweet corn in it, and was a "three sisters" garden.  That means that the sweet corn takes all the nitrogen out of the soil, the green beans (or any other kind of bean, but we did green beans) "fix" the nitrogen in the soil with the nodules on the roots and also use the corn stalks as trellises and the pumpkin (or any other kind of squash, gourd or low laying vining plant) shades the ground to keep in moisture and crowd out weeds.  The corn is long gone (I left the stalks for the beans) but the pumpkin and beans are happy as ever with water every couple days.  Needless to say, nothing has flowered or produced in quite a while, but with the LOOONG growing season, these guys will have a chance to bear fruit before the first frost in November.  Also note the beautiful asparagus in the back of the box.  I love asparagus and as soon as we expand the garden I think that whole box might end up being full of it!

And then we come to the most lovely part of the garden (though it is all very lovely!)

I thought this guy was long gone, but suddenly the heirloom moon and stars watermelon plant decided to rebound and grow very vigorously.  It's flowering like crazy and it may be too late for it to actually produce any watermelons before the cool evenings come, but it's so beautiful I can't bear to take it out, so there she is...taking up space I'm glad to give her.

Why the garden post?  I haven't made one in a very long time and since NOW is the time for fall planting (crazy right?  I was surely not thinking about fall planting at 107!!) I've been out there a lot and really enjoying God's little garden during a crazy drought.  Some days I feel bad about all the water we're using (don't worry, our town is not under restriction and I only water late in the evening or early in the morning) but since we just have small raised beds, the water is not wasted and also only takes about 20 minutes a day.  We hope to install a grey water collection system soon so that all the laundry and dishes water will be used to water the garden instead of fresh, drinking water. 

So what did you plant in your fall garden or are you not working on one this year?  We've got potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, parsley, brussels sprouts, spinach and sugar snap peas planted so far.  We'll do lettuce, carrots and garlic as the season wears on.  Are you in the DFW area?  How are you dealing with the drought in your garden?  Which of your plants are thriving right now? 

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 

One last thought...it reminds me very much of a book we read for homeschool last year called A Question of Yams. 
 
"Kuri's father has planted their yams without praying to the spirits. The Head Men insist that the yams must be planted in the right way, but Father declares, "God is mighty," and he continues to plant their garden in the name of Jesus Christ. Kuri can't help wondering whether the Head Men are right. Are the spirits punishing him and his family? If the yams don't grow, what will they eat? Does he dare to be like Father and trust only in God? The day comes at last when Kuri must decide."

In the book there is a drought and all of the village people believe they are being cursed because Kuri's father didn't pray to the spirits.  They chant for rain and wait, but it never comes and their yams dry up, but Kuri's father sees that God is good because in the midst of the drought  the stream is still running.  They bring water to the garden every day and end up with yams to spare!  LOVE that picture!  True story, by the way.  Great book if you ever want to read it, too.

Love and miss you all!