I'm taking a lesson in endurance from my garden, which is holding up far better than I am in this heat. When it reached an unprecedented 100 degrees in Langley this afternoon, I hosed down the dog, washed my hair and left it dripping, and soaked my feet in ice water, yet both dog and human are flagging. It's officially a record-breaking 103 degrees in Seattle. Cliff Mass tells us that the dewpoint is remarkably high, meaning it's as sultry as an east coast summer's day, and isn't cooling off at night much either....see his weather blog for frequent updates. At 3:15 this afternoon Cliff wrote "Convection is forming over the mountains. Today I noticed altocumulus castellanus...midlevel convection on this side of the Cascades. The focus of the convection may shift our way...." - does this mean a chance of cooling? I hope so.....
Meanwhile, my garden is holding up amazing well. The lilies are going over faster than usual, hydrangea blooms are a little withered in the heat of the afternoon, but the sweet peas are still blooming like crazy, tomatoes ripen as you watch, roses are thriving. Humans seem to have such a small range of temperatures in which we feel comfortable - we're a full 30 degrees above my personal comfort range - yet plants seem far more adaptable. And get this - I found nearly a dozen big slugs feasting on my ligularia at 6:00 a.m., despite the fact there was not a drop of dew....you'd think that this heat would toast the slugs into oblivion, yet they endure too.
I saw this glorious gunnera spreading its vast leaves open to the sun in Tina Dixon's Bothell garden this morning....how the garden goes on bravely as we wilt in the heat....
