**(Looking for "Thrift Shop Blog Hop?" Click here!)**
WELCOME TO KANSAS...
Last Winter when it was unseasonably warm,
I laughed (though guiltily) about
Global Warming.
"Bring it on," I joked,
"Kansas could end up to be a tropical oasis!
I made this joke because:
1) I love the water and coastal areas.
2) It was wonderful to enjoy
the mild temperatures
and to not have to shovel snow
as in winters past.
3) I often make jokes about things
I'm concerned about
but would rather not admit.
4) It was a joke about
how great Kansas was going to be,
not meant to focus on what would have
to happen for Kansas
to become a tropical island.
That said,
no one has any worries at all.
Depending on how you think about things, the drought in the Midwest this Summer
may be a result of major climate change
or just a cyclical blip in the typical pattern,
but we're not an island yet.
Well, it looks a bit like sand,
but this isn't a beach.
It's the front yard that my husband
proudly tends 2-3 times a week...or did.
There is no sand to squish between toes here.
Only hard, dry ground.
There is no use trying to water the yard.
It just brings the roots
to the top of the ground.
Either way, the grass is dead
and the earth is bare.
Despite trying to water the plants,
my peonies look like this:
My hydrangeas like this:
#12: Dried-up
Daylilies and hosta like this.
It looks like there is a black mat
under the plants, but it's just the soil.
It's already clear we've lost some plants and bushes.
Will the forsynthia bush come back next year?
Will the Japanese Maple survive?
If you find these photos a little disheartening, I'm sorry. I do as well.
I went out and took these photos,
and more of structural damage, one evening.
It seemed it hadn't rained in weeks and everything was so dried up.
Then my husband came home
and told how it had rained pretty well
that morning, as he was leaving, on his drive to work, and for about an hour afterward.
I could hardly believe it.
There was no longer any sign of it.
It must be worse for farmers.
It must be worse for people trying to live off the food they grow in their gardens.
It must be worse for those living
with dust storms.
I just know that as much as I don't like
gray, soggy weather,
as much as I do like sunshine,
this isn't a beach and we need some rain.
And next time I want to dip my toes
in the ocean,
I'll go to the coast,
like in the "olden days."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey, lets go see what the others are doing
over on Lori Plyler's "Studio Waterstone" site
for
Thanks for stopping by!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
