The State of My Garden

In a word...scary.  Seriously.  Take a look.  Would you want to walk in here?

I certainly haven't wanted to in quite some time and it shows.  I'm afraid of what I might scare up.  I startled a little bunny rabbit last week and I also saw a beautiful Western garner snake.  But I'm not sure what other sinister critters may be hiding out in this mess.  I only have one garden bed that is still growing stuff and that's my sweet potato bed.  And I peeked in there a couple of days ago and oh my goodness, will I have sweet potatoes!  But that's for another post :)

The current state of my garden is also very embarrassing for me.  I have Never.Ever. let my garden get so overgrown and messy.  I still can't believe it looks so bad.  But this summer, it has just been too darn hot to get out there and work it.  And it still is.  It was 99 degrees yesterday...and it's the end of September for crying out loud!

Anyway, I have been procrastinating long enough.  It's time I did something to clean up this mess and get my garden back!  And I've also done something else I've never done before concerning my garden.  I actually hired a crew to clean it out.

It pains me to admit this.  I've always taken great pride in my garden, in how productive and beautiful it is (usually), and in doing all the work myself.  But I finally admitted to myself that I needed help.  And look what they've done!

They cleaned out all the beds

mowed all the weeds down to the ground,  laid a weed mat around the entire garden floor and put down a 6-inch layer of mulch, turned over all the soil in all the beds and spread a bag and half of compost I had laying around.  I was out there yesterday morning before they finished the job and couldn't believe how much better it looked already!

Of course the puppies were very curious as to what this was all about...not to mention all these great new smells!  It was also a treat for them because my garden is usually off limits.

And see what it looks like now!  I have my beautiful garden queendom back! 

Many thanks to Mark and his crew for all their hard work!

Harry and I leave in a couple of days for two weeks in Paris and Holland.  When we get back, all I have to do is add some compost to a few beds and plant my fall and winter garden.  Yay!  I'm anxious to get back into my garden.  I've really missed it these past couple of months.  I'm also anxious to get back to blogging.  I've missed that and y'all too!  Of course, I probably lost a lot of you guys too during my lil break :/

Thank you all for your patience and encouraging words in my last two posts.  Hopefully, I will be back online by the middle of October.  Until then, bon voyage! :)

The State of Texas

Thank you all so very much for your kind thoughts and words.  I'm working on it...I'm really trying.  But as Cat can probably attest to, it's just been SO HOT and SO DRY that NOTHING is growing...NOTHING...and my garden has never, EVER, looked so bad or so pitiful. Not to mention the horrific wildfires that much of Texas is experiencing.  Since early May 2011, South Texas has had over 55 days with temperatures over 100 degrees.  Who wants to get out and work in that heat?  And God bless those who have to. 

I've said this in an earlier post...I have lived in Texas for almost 30 years and I have never seen a summer as hot, as dry and as fire-prone as the Summer of 2011.  It's difficult to explain unless you are here and experiencing what we are living with.  As I write this, there are wildfires all around me.  How and why they have not touched us here is beyond my explanation.  The entire state is a tinderbox.  

It is now the middle of September, 2011.  South Texas has had only 6.5" of rain this year.  Think about the magnitude of that.  I don't mean to be a spoilsport or a doomsdayer, but this is the reality we are living with.

Kelsey, what has your year/summer looked like?  I know you had awful fires earlier this year.  What do things look like now?  Can you relate to this unprecedented drought? 

I do hope to be back online soon.

But if you pray in any way, we ask that you pray for the entire State of Texas and its residents.  This is more than anyone can truly fathom. 

This photo was taken by a friend.  It depicts the city of Austin in the foreground with city of Bastrop, 25 miles to the East, burning uncontrolled.  Dear God, help us; and please...pray for rain.