Cooler but still hot yuck, flowers and a visitor.

Clouds are high and thin, just enough cover that it keeps whatever heat is being reflected off the surface of the earth. Yesterday it was ten degrees cooler inside than outside and felt nice at 83, right now its the same temp in and out so may not close up with the ac today.

The Jacaranda is in bloom again, big panicles of purple flowers standing up above the yellow green leaves almost right outside my window (I can see them as I sit at my desk.).

 I wasn't going to water today but I have video showing just how dry the soil can get in 24 hours.

 Watered everything, the spots on the potato leaves are dry and crumbly which I need to double check whether it's a disease or sunburn given where the patches are.

This is after I completely crumbled an entire leaf at my fingertips. You can see how the other leaf has pieces missing as well. They aren't turning yellow so that's why I'm thinking it's sunburn or damage from the weather:

"Potatoes plants and tubers that are exposed to hot sun and winds after cloudy weather can suffer damage and die, notes Harvest to Table. Symptoms of this exposure include light green, wilting leaves that dry up, and if tubers are present underground, they become brown and watery."

Hmmm guess what we've been having? Looks like I need to get the shovel over there and see what's going on under the surface for potatoes.  It's very difficult to water that bed without the plants getting wet, I don't have a soaker hose or drip system so will monitor the plants and see what happens.

The lettuce has some browning on one of the leaf tips so I'm going to call it brutal weather and wind damage.

The peppers are struggling and I'm thinking I  might side dress with some fertilizer to  help them along. That bed gets full on hot sun all day so I'm going to have to come up with something that will grow there and will thrive in those conditions. Not Rosemary... thank you very much.

Still no flowers on this pea but I do have a couple on the smaller plant in the other bed...hmmph. The south bed was flat as a pancake but not as dry since it gets partial shade but I got the trowel and dug things around then watered...something white surface and thought it was a rock but when I picked it out...hehehe um, forgot I put garlic in there. Pushed it back down and continued watering.

The stems on this purslane are bright orange and had to try and get a picture of it. Since it's never been watered the coloring is due to drought stress and if it isn't watered it will eventually just shrivel up. he other purslane near the potatoes are getting regular water and are happy and thriving.

There are so many tomatoes on the bush it's kind of sad but hilarious. Fruit trees and plants produce bumper crops when they feel stress and sense imminent demise so therefore...

There must be at least six or eight tomatoes going right now, the plant looks like hell but if I can keep it going long enough to get those ripened I'll feel accomplished. 

As I was watering I noticed a bee hovering over some barely damp dirt near the front of that bed, looking for water no doubt so I tried not to splash her while giving her a bigger puddle to drink from. She moved on to the marigolds to get her water.

Then I noticed leafminer damage in the leaves. Great. It's a common enough issue but I don't have anything to take care of that. Oh well.

Now on to the flowers! Saving best for last of course. Don't know how I missed seeing this one blooming yesterday and the day before.

See the pinky leaf plant behind it? That's a poinsettia! But this gorgeous epi has flowers bigger than my hand, it's absolutely happy as ever and it reminds me to go check the one hanging in the gazebo. The roses are still going but I think there's only one more bud to open on the Tiffany.

 

 

I gendered the bee for a reason by the way, all foraging bees are female, they're the worker bees that have 'aged out' of the hive. I saw an interesting article on the life cycle of a bee and the first few days after hatching they clean their room essentially, then they move on to helping the other bees clean and feed, then tending the hive and finally graduate to foraging. Fascinating details I never knew!

 

Another breezy hot day spent inside, the issue with trying to go out after it cools down is..it doesn't cool down until it gets dark.