Just to be different, the weather was pleasant today–80s, sunny, dry, and breezy.  I’m so used to everything being abnormal, from climate change to a deadly pandemic to a terrorist for president, that I hardly know what to think.  So here are more random pretty pictures, including a raven in E’s tree.

The new TN dry season seems to be intermittent strong t-storms featuring inches of rain, and molten sun with dripping humidity.  At this rate our zone will soon become tropical.  Not quite my preference for gardening (or climate sustainability, for that matter), but hey, I’ll take it, or more accurately, the plants will.  I rarely have to water them.

Now, if I could only grow citrus, bougainvillea, and tropicals year-round, that would be cool.  If I live long enough, the entire southern coast will be submerged, and we’ll no longer be landlocked.  It could happen.

Lots of pollinators are busy at work out in the sauna, including a black type of swallowtail.  I’m still learning the differences between species.  So much to learn, so little time.

Today (in between rains) I got some more trees marked off in the “prairie”.  New saplings keep appearing each time I go exploring.  It’s a regular nursery out there.  Maybe an arboretum eventually.

This is what the veg garden has become–a volunteer flower garden!  All these marigolds and others came up on their own and took over.  Here and there some actual veggies can be found.

Here’s another view of the “California rock garden”, one of hundreds of morning glories on the fence, and Misu in her accustomed position next to me, keeping a lookout for critters.  (See what I did there?)  😉

I finally figured out that southern summer is at least four or five months long.  That’s almost half the year!  Which is fine, because I hate winter.  Which also feels like half the year, as far as gardening is concerned.  So I’m not complaining about this mega-sauna we’re stuck in, because it beats frigid, but it makes it hard to get stuff done.  Which makes me glad I’m retired from having to work outside.  It would literally kill me now.  Now I get to actually watch the seasons unfold, rather than lose sight of them amid all the hustle and commotion.

Here’s another steamy lull between rains.

This is turning into the wettest dry season in TN we’ve experienced since moving here.  The other day it rained over an inch, and it continues intermittently.  Then it turns ghastly humid with mosquitos.  Fun.  But the trees are very happy.

I started to work on step 2 of the “prairie” project, systematically locating and marking all the trees I want to keep and clear around.  I didn’t get very far before the mosquito squads got up in my face, but I’ll keep at it when conducive.

I did manage to take these random flower shots in between showers.  The morning glories are really thriving in this climate.  Whereas I’m wilting and wringing myself out a lot.  But I don’t mind, It’s what gardening is all about.  The world is disintegrating, but my little botanical microcosm is slowly coming around and being put right.