Monday, July 22, 2019

HOT

We (like most of the country) were under a heat advisory warning.  The City of Houston sent out alerts telling people to stay inside where it's cool, do no strenuous activity outside, drink lots of water, etc.  

So we knew it was that time of year...the time when we have to do the least possible at the farm.


 2nd Man stayed in town.  My only mission was to mow and water the fruit trees.


About the usual length of time I mow.  I really should have used the weed whacker but seriously it was just too hot.  Dangerously hot.


While I was mowing I notice that this pear tree has several pieces of fruit on it.  This is not one of the ones behind the house in the "orchard".  This is one of the random trees planted and ignored a few years ago.  We guess nature found a way.


There is even one way up high.  I need to read up on how to prune it correctly when the time comes.  It seems like it's growing too straight and tall and I need to make it branch out.  But hey, this means that we'll have even more pears someday so we're OK with that.  Pear preserves, here we come, ha!


I stayed about 2 1/2 hours and then decided it was too hot and too dangerous to keep doing stuff outside.  While this wasn't our actual temperature, this was after the car sat in the sun for a couple of hours (extremal temp of course).  I think our actual high was 97 with high humidity.


The grass is not growing much and the ground is starting to dry...


...and crack.  You'd think with as much rain as we sometimes get it would last and keep things green but it doesn't last long does it?


While I was mowing I saw some more lantana growing wild.  The pops of orange are nice to see amongst the green.  And hey, at least the lantana is drought tolerant!

Hope you had a good weekend and stayed cool!


15 comments:

  1. What is the chart in your post. Don't fall in a crack in the yard!

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    1. OH! I might have started posting those when you were not able to log in. That is an app I have that I turn on when I mow. What it does is track my path and then tells me how far I went, how many acres, the MPH etc . there is even a satellite image of the property that shows the path I mowed. They are all stored in the app so I can go back to prior seasons and see how I did compared to prior years.

      And yes, I know exactly what you mean a few years ago it was REALLY dry and there were some large cracks and I tripped over one. Ugh.

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  2. i sort of get that weather in texas but up here? i'm in the northeast and it feels like miami!

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    1. Yeah we're used to it by now (hence why we know this is the stop everything outside season, ha) but for y'all that's just crazy. Hope you cool off soon, Fall can't come soon enough!

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  3. I love lantana. I am not sure it can ever be too hot or dry for it!

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    1. We like it too. So many colors and it's practically indesubtible, though a weed by some definitions. And I think it's toxic to livestock but we have none near any fence line and when I plant it I'd like it to be around the house for sure. It's color and survives out weather.

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  4. Stay cool, stay safe. Lantana is pretty, but in much of Australia it is classified as a noxious weed. It thrives in hot and dry.

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    1. Thanks!! I think in some states here it is considered a weed too. But it is pretty.

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  5. It’s Texas, in summer, with a heat wave = ugh. TG for air conditioning.
    I’m glad you were smart about it and didn’t overdo in this heat.
    That free range pear tree is so amazing. It just keeps on living all on its own. Just like that lantana.
    We got a few rain showers this afternoon – which measured one tenth of an inch in the rain gauge. But at least it cooled things off a few degrees.

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    1. Right? It's so dangerous this time of year. I do THE bare minimum required. Yep that pear hasn't been watered by me in six years or so. Nature finds a way. I guess now I should start taking better care of it. Or now, ha. We had zero rain at the farm a bit in town.

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  6. Pears do tend to have a much more upright growth pattern. Your best bet is to concentrate on trimming some of the "inside" branches if that makes sense. Take the ones growing toward the center of the tree and leave the outer. You can check out limb spreaders.
    https://www.starkbros.com/products/tools-and-supplies/tree-accessories/limb-spreaders

    Do you have a fruit picking basket tool to get stuff on tall branches?

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    1. Oh, and I forgot! Not sure if it varies between Michigan, where I am and TX, but the rule for pruning trees here is: any month with an "R". Given your much longer growing season, I might sick w/ Nov-Dec.

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    2. Thank you for the info. SO it does sort of grow like that. I understand about thinning it out in the center a bit. To let more light in and open it up a bit.

      Limb spreaders I had never heard of thanks for that. And nope nothing to get the high ones I'll have to look into that for sure, ha. Any month with an R huh? Interesting!!!

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  7. I saw a great photo today that made me think of details you want to add to your yard. It was the head and foot-board from an old bed. It was set up in the shape of a bed with flowers planted in it so it was literally a flower bed. The bed parts were painted white and the colors were super comfortable.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Oooh I'll have to google that, thanks for thinking of us like that.

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