A Partridge in a Pear Tree

I hope your Christmas season has been blessed. We finally seem to be inching out of the drought here in Oklahoma, with inch by inch of rain over the last month or two. I have missed posting here, but seriously, everything burned up and died over the long drought, so my posts would have been highly repetitive. Just photos of dead stuff. Just read my last post and repeat. I didn't bother with a garden last summer. But... the ponds have actual water again, and the ground is spongy with moisture. So there is hope for growing beautiful and yummy things again. My pear trees did great this year, however.

The deer loved to eat the 10 or 12 that fell off the tree every day in the Okie wind. The ground around the trees would be littered with fallen pears at dusk, but by morning the ground was clean. The dogs thought they were tasty too, and brought a daily pear snack to the back porch to eat. But for human consumption, you have to be patient. The pears have to sit for 10 to 14 days or so, until they are soft and juicy. You can't eat them right off the tree, no matter how long you wait to pick them. They ripened sitting on my counter top in the kitchen. Or you can wrap them in newspaper and stash them somewhere dry, and dig them out a few at a time. Delicious.

Partridges, turkeys, and many deer wander by. But none actually IN the pear tree.

Since when is Oklahoma the Desert?

I forgot a drought survivor in my last post. Bermuda grass. NOT my favorite, OK, my LEAST favorite grass. But it survives no matter the weather conditions in Oklahoma. Right now it's dormant, dry and thirsty, in most places, unless you're watering it on purpose. Or it happens to reside over your septic tank, where it is currently forming a nice green ring in the middle of my dead backyard.

The roadside grasses and trees looked almost autumnal as I was driving home from church today. Trees turning brown. Grasses are that pretty golden color they get in the fall. In the fall I enjoy the variations of gold, brown and amber grasses. But not in late July, coming on to August. Green is what I'm looking for.

I'm attempting to paint my office at the school a pretty gold color. So far it's only pretty in my imagination, since the three colors of gold I've painted in large swatches on the wall by the back door just don't quite match the warm, vibrant shade I have in my imagination. More like "Pumpkin on the Compost Pile", "Immature Banana", or "Broom Handle". Not shades I'd like to look at every day. I should not go into the color naming business. My hair color box would read "Wheat Field Stubble" instead of "Champaign Fizz," since I tend to associate color with nature. Probably not a big seller. I really do think the golden stubble in the wheat fields is one of my favorite colors, by the way.

On Saturday I spent about 90 minutes doing battle with a patch of bermuda grass that had overtaken a lovely flower bed around a gazeebo at the old Sellers event center. The property is now the home of WINGS, a special needs community. It will be an amazing place for their art workshop, gift shop and day program. I joined in with a clean up team trying to shape up the grounds. It was only 105 in the shade, so I didn't last long! Some of those folks had been out there all morning, doing some serious clean up around the pond, in the extensive landscaping, and even trimming trees.

This is Shauna in the nice hat, giving the bermuda patch a good watering to help loosen the roots. She loaned me her favorite bermuda digging tool; the claw end of an adz. Pretty effective.

Praying for Rain in the Heat Dome

This about sums it up:
"Vast amounts of warmth and moisture have become trapped under a huge "heat dome," bringing record-breaking temperatures and thick, topical air to scores of cities from the Plains to the Ohio Valley. Now the system is moving east to spread the misery to some of the country's most densely populated areas through the weekend."

Sadly, such is life in my Oklahoma again this summer. Relentless. Hot. Sweaty. I put on my flipflops just long enough to crunch across the "grass" to water the plants that are hanging on, or make a run down the burning sidewalk to give the spigot a quick twist to start my drip hose dripping. Then it's back inside to the airconditioning. Come on Air Conditioner! Keep up the good work! I try to talk encouragingly to it daily, so that it feels needed; like it's creating miracles of coolness in the misery. Which it is.

Gene and I have totally abandoned our daily routine of opening the curtains to the morning sun, and putting the house to bed at night by drawing them closed. The windows stay covered all the time. We sit in the darkened rooms. I have to hurry down the hall to get where I'm going before Gene snaps off the light! Yes. We're pathetic.

I could show you the dying trees and the long-dead grass. Instead I'll show you the survivors.

Crepe Myrtle seems oblivious to the heat. I usually call them Creepy Myrtles, since they are EVERYWHERE in Oklahoma. But I appreciate their refreshing color right now.

The Double Knockout Rose blossoms are small, but it keeps blooming.

Sumac is just a survivor, no matter what Oklahoma decides to offer for nasty weather.

Well, here's a good, encouraging word for you.

Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

This Girl Knows How to Dress for Gardening

Granddaughter Rylan sports a lovely lavendar matching set for her gardening work. If you're going to be seen on the corner of two "busy" country roads gardening in the front yard, you may as well look spiffy.

Personally, if I manage to wear all the usual undergarments society expects of women in the public eye, under my jammy pants and T-shirt I feel I've "dressed" for watering and weeding my flower beds.

Here's a link though, for those of you who desire comfort, style and functionality, even while gardening.

One of my favorites is the pair of gardening half pants. OK, before you scroll down to see the photo, how might you guess one would wear gardening half pants? Are they like shorts with removable legs? Keep the top half. Lose the bottom half? Choose the left or right half? Nope. They are made to cover your FRONT half.

Even better: half pants with bib

These lovelies include built in knee pads. A very thoughtful addition. (Too bad the model's face is obscured by the hat, and bush, and definite downward tilt of the head.)

This apron has a feature I've never seen in garden apparel.

It comes with "convenient inside back pouch (which) holds a Hot/Cold Gel Pack to help relieve backaches and muscle pain caused by continuous bending and stretching. Just pop the gel pack in the microwave for 30-60 seconds and enjoy the warm soothing heat. Alternatively, you can place the gel pack in the freezer and apply the cold pack whenever appropriate." How awesome is that?

My girl herd is grown and mostly out of the house. But I found myself wedged into a Dillards dressing room the other night with two of my sweeties, trying on dresses appropriate for attending a friend's wedding. It reminded me of some of the mantras they've taught me for selecting my own clothing. If any of the following apply, it's probably best not to wear it in public:
1. You would blend in on the set of Little House on the Prairie.
2. The floral pattern includes blossoms larger than the salad plate at the wedding.
3. Your Elven friends would love this dress.(I do own a forest green "elvish" jacket,complete with hood, and side pockets, which I refuse to stop wearing.) By the way, according to the "Elvish Name Generator" my elven name is Alasse Alcalime. And I think elves are beautiful, at least in the Lord of the Rings movies. I believe elven women are eternal, so 50 might not look so tired dressed up as an elf!
4. I saw this dress on the Frumpy Police "10 Most Wanted" list at the Salvation Army store. Not that I don't LOVE a good second hand clothing store, but my daughters seem to think there are limits on elastic waists and chunky jackets.

For now, I'll limit my gardening-specific ensemble to a nice big hat, or at least my favorite old baseball cap over a ponytail, and a good pair of gloves with whatever outerwear I woke up in, or managed to drag on in time to get some yard work done in the early hours before the Oklahoma heat hits 100 degrees again.

Leavenworth prison farm trains inmates, feeds needy

I might have to commit fraud or some other non-violent crime to get sent to Leavenworth, to get some gardening time in.

Check out this link:
Leavenworth prison farm trains inmates, feeds needy - KansasCity.com#storylink=misearch

This story is a great example of a creative use of people and places to feed those who need fresh produce, but can't afford the grocery store prices.

Fishability

One of my other passions besides growing things is working for our non-profit that we call Whistling Wind, Inc. Our mission is to promote accessible recreation and sport. The next outing takes us to the Kirkpatrick Family Farm in Yukon, OK on Saturday, May 14 from 10-2:00 where we'll be fishing. We invited folks from the area to bring their children who have various disabilities to come fishing in this beautiful setting.

Hubby Gene and I met Dixie and another Gene who leads a Boy Scout troop in Mustang out at the farm a while back. I took these sweet pictures of the fishing pond. What a truly glorious spring day it was.

I'm looking forward to spending time outdoors in such a beautiful setting. That is always healing and enriching for me. I hope it is healing and enriching for the families who join us there.

Room for the Senses in the Garden

Located next to the botanical garden just west of OSU in Stillwater is the new sensory garden. The main meeting "room" at the Oklahoma State sensory garden, pictured above, opens into a winding "hall" that leads us through five sensory rooms. The rooms are designed to be enjoyed particularly by individuals with disabilities.



Do you put the water feature in the room celebrating sound or touch? This pretty water cascade was located in the "sound" room.




The room celebrating taste includes a collection of berries and herbs. Visitors can taste test a few while resting on the wide stone walls. Their strawberry tower (below) is a pleasing structure to look at too.

Daughter (and OSU sophomore) Alli picked me up at the Gardening with Disabilities workshop on the OSU campus in her li'l white pick up truck, and went with me out to the garden tour. The gardens are west of Western, following the signs along a gravel road, across a low water bridge and past the greenhouses.

We hoped it might rain on us as we strolled the garden, since the sky was cloudy and threatening. But no such luck. Still dry. Although those clouds produced some pretty serious weather east of us, and on into the Carolinas where a string of tornadoes let loose. We were "lucky" I guess that we were on the west side of the dry line.

I love a garden tour. It's kind of like herding kindergartners, when you let a bunch of gardeners loose on the garden. Forget the leader trying to narrate and explain much. We're all too excitedly pointing and exclaiming in admiration.

Beautiful garden with new friends and a beautiful daughter. Doesn't get better than that.