You'll find plenty of references to our Night Blooming Cereus. I've been watching this plant - which Tom started from the original - grow its first buds. Yesterday they exploded into ready-to-open buds and we went out onto the enclosed porch at 10 pm and saw them in full flower.
To see other blog posts about this plant, use the search bar at the top left.
For the past eight days it's been hot and dry. We had some rain on 08/27 but other than that, we've had a stretch of 15 days without rain. That's odd, especially with August recording over 13" of rain. It simply tuned off.
Yesterday was the hottest day of all (a 95° high) and also the hottest of the season. I recorded no temperatures that high last year, either.
While I was watching radar yesterday mid-afternoon, storms started forming to our NW. I walked into the back yard as they neared and listened to the approaching thunder.
At 3 pm the storm arrived.
We received a notification to take shelter. Certainly the winds approached 60 mph as some local law enforcement reported. The Tempest recorded 7370 lightning strikes within about 25 miles of here.
Here's what radar looked like:
We have lots of smallish limbs down. I cleaned the largest up this morning but it's going to take some time to get the small stuff. I may just mow it.
Most notable was the instant drop of the temperature. It fell from the 95° high to about 70° in what seemed like minutes. It was actually chilly.
Sadly we received only 0.15" in the rain gauge and that's not enough to even water the lawn.
I awoke to thunder during the night. And radar is still showing thunderstorms upstream of here. But it looks like they'll miss us to the NE. So that may be the end of it.
Later: I was taking a short nap when Tom went out and began burning limbs ... and collecting more. It's now hours later (and 87° and humid) and he's shirtless and still at it. What a job!
Later still ...
Tom spent much of the afternoon picking up limbs (I helped) and then burnt what we collected. The largest debris is gone but there are still plenty of twigs lying about. I hope the mower takes care of them.
Many people don't know about the Autumn Crocus and I didn't know we had any until a couple of years ago. I obviously planted them and forgot. They're in the nature reserve and about two years ago I mowed a path through there that happened upon the spot where these are growing. I was actually startled by the lavender on the ground.
I do remember seeing the lily-like leaves in the spring and never knew what they were. But once I had identified them during their blooming cycle, I watch for them every fall.
They're planted behind (west) where I have naturalized the daffodils.
Oddly, the bulbs are not bothered by squirrels. They also disregard the daffodils but I cannot have any other spring bulbs (tulips, hyacinths, etc.). This year I also noticed that all the Surprise Lilies ("Naked Ladies") are gone.
As pretty as they are, the plants are toxic so it's good thy are not in the yard where Parker might get to them.
With all the rain we've had in August (almost 14") we've had only half an inch in the last ten days. It's actually getting quite dry out. Thus the probable explanation for what we're witnessing at our hummingbird feeder. Or rather the "ant moat" above it.
I keep the moat filled with water. It's certainly a small source ... but it is fresh water.
Enter this squirrel ...
I was doing lunch dishes today when I realized I was being watched. I called Tom to come and take a look.
It's a stretch but the squirrel can hang by her toenails (I think it is female) and manage to sip water from the ant moat. I found it draining too quickly a month ago and I happened to see the squirrel then also.
She'll drink a bit - upside down yet - and then stand atop the branch and lip her lips. I'm sure, as small as the source is, that it's still a great refreshment and handy. She has found the perfect source to satisfy her thirst in this tree.
Last evening we were treated to a partial eclipse of the moon through it came very close to being total at 96.2% coverage. I began watching the Earth's shadow cover the moon at about 10 pm. The shadow slid up from the lower left and had already taken a big bite out of the moon.
Here's another full-frame shot taken within minutes of the first one.
I found using my cell phone quite difficult (the pictures above were taken with a Canon SX20 IS on a tripod). By using Expert Raw on my phone I got this:
August is the traditional month where we see brown, parched lawn and cracked, barren soil. Not so this month.
I just read 3.35" in the rain gauge at 7 am. I've been keeping daily readings for 52 years and I don't ever remember a reading like that. Not even in the heavy rains of spring.
What's more, the month is now over a foot! I'm at 13.19" and the month is only two-thirds complete.
I went to bed at my usual 10:30 pm and I briefly heard a storm approaching. I might have heard it raining but I don't remember much more. The Tempest shows all hell breaking loose:
These extreme rainfall rates went on for hours. This morning the sump is working overtime and on my walk back the neighbor's lane I saw the result of the overnight flooding.
Here's a wider view of the rainfall:
And the lightning:
There were 230 strikes recorded by the Tempest: 90 on 08/19 and 140 on 08/20.
You know how you can be looking right at something and not see it? I think the same goes for smell. For the past several days when I've been walking back the neighbor's lane I caught the scent of something memorable, if not pleasant. And yet I never stopped to identify the smell.
Today I was walking Parker back the lane and the scent wafted across me again. That's when it hit me what I was smelling was stinkhorn.
But could I find the source of the odor? I walked slowly, scanning the edge of the muddy field. And there it was - actually there they were - two stinkhorns. They had come up through the mud and stood at the edge of the corn.
