We have had relatively cooler mornings here the last 2 days (ONLY 80 degrees or so...), so this morning I picked up the weeder and went out back where the grass was 2 feet high in some places! YES! Can you believe it? It really was getting to the point of hopelessness. And, one of my chores was to thin out my hollyhocks. I'd say 90% of them were dead and had long ago gone to seed. I have harvested the seeds for this coming fall and by next Spring I should have a nice crop of them! So, I picked off the remaining seeds, took my clippers out, and cut off ALL the dead stalks. It looks SO MUCH BETTER now. And, I used the weeder until the battery ran out (apparently it was NOT fully charged) and I am now charging it up. Hopefully I can finish more of the back yard this afternoon.
It is sad to see the hollyhocks depleted like they now are, but August is upon us and this is a month of rest here in the desert. Most plants can struggle through July, but for some reason, not August. It is time for the soil to rest and time for me to start thinking about my fall planting.
I also picked up EVERY bowl of water for the dog and completely scrubbed each one! Good thing Bodie stayed away....I might have scrubbed him, too. Instead, he found an old cat food can and proudly ran all over the back yard with his "treasure". He is now sound asleep at my feet as I type this!
More shenanigans tomorrow!
~~Cheryl Ann~~
My hollyhocks from this year. Hubby applied a watercolor effect to them using Photoshop. Bye, bye sweet flowers...until next Spring!
Sounds like a lot of work. Beautiful flowers for sure. I wish it would get down to 80. Too hot and smokey to anything outside right now.
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