It is not yet mid June. In Minnesota June is usually a month of mixed weather – warm days and cool nights. I remember when I was young I always brought a sweater along because the nights turned chilly. Now in 2021 June has lost its cool nights and the warm days have moved to hot.
We are currently, like much of the nation, in a heat wave. The early morning is mid to high 70’s and we climb to the upper 80’s by 10 am and the upper 90’s to 100 but mid afternoon. As a gardener I am struggling. The spring was cool and my plants stayed small. I have a group of them there are still in little cups waiting to be planted.
Last week I was ready and then the weather turned. There is no planting small veggie plants in 100 degree sun. They will fry! So they sit on my deck being moved in and out of sun, being watered twice a day in hopes of keeping them alive. I have pots of perennials waiting to go in the ground that are hidden under bushes to keep them away from the burning sun.
I am up early like my neighbors watering garden and veggie beds and knowing I now need to begin watering the back gardens as well. This heat and need for so much water takes me back to the book I just finished called The Four Winds. (Kristen Hannah, 2021) It tells the story of the dust bowl and the lives of a family fighting to survive in the depression. It is history our history!
A story of sadness, greed and love. A story that reminds us that we need to look to the forces of nature. We need to find ways to understand the delicate balance that nature keeps between animals, plants and the environment in general. We need to listen to the change that is happening in our world. The lesson’s of greed, over production, destruction are clear in our history if we are willing to stop and look.
So as I a struggle with the heat and environmental change I still feel blessed in that I have water to keep the gardens going for now. I have a cool house to retreat to or a Grandson that drags me into the splashing water of a kiddy pool. I have family that are here for a short time to tell stories, play and enjoy the care of each other after a long and struggling year of the pandemic.
The summer stretches before us – hot and sunny but with love, care and joyful times with family. Even in the heat there is joy!
Words from JL 
Joanne, you astound me with your dedication – moving plants around, watering and protecting them through the heat. I read The Four Winds too. My mother had some interesting stories about how they survived the depression in OK. I celebrate water, cool houses, kiddy pools, and family along with you.It’s been hotter than I’m used to in TX the past week, but not as hot as it will be soon. I’m ready to head back to the Pacific NW.
oh TX heat – that is hard to deal with the NW will be wonderful to return to! Glad you had time with family!