...as I sit her typing this post, my feet are so cold that they ache. I can honestly say to January 2026, "Good riddance. Your time came and now it's gone." (Note to self..read this post in August when it's 110° F outside.)
From "Ugly snow and frigid cold - farewell January 2026"
I have always heard, "Be careful what you wish for," and boy, oh boy, is that the truth.
I thought July, 2026 was bad - August and September, 2026 have been even worse.
For 15 of the 31 days in August, our temperature was 100° F or higher, with the hottest day being August 16, when it hit 107.1° F. We only got 2.26" of rain for the entire month.
September started out with eight of the first 10 days above 100° F, and on one of the two days where it didn't make it to 100°, it was 99.9° F. During that time, we got only 0.05" of rain.
Even the zinnias couldn't take it.
My little sister and I have spent literally hours in August and early September carrying water, one or two gallons at a time, trying desperately to keep a few things alive.
If I wasn't in the house and RAF wanted to find me, all he had to do was keep an eye on the water barrels or the IBC tanks. By early September, one of the 1000 liter IBC tank had been completely drained, even after a bit of water had been added back during our few rains. The other tank was already half empty by the time we finally got a decent rain shower in the early morning hours of September 11th. What a blessing that rain was, too. Because after that one day with a high temperature of only 89.1° F, the temperature has started creeping back up again, approaching 100° F again by the middle of the week.
The casualties of the summer that made me the most sad were my beautiful Ozark Chinquapin and my beautiful strawberry bed.
Both of them gone - done - dead - as crispy as the food I try to cook.
Will fall ever arrive? I'm actually not sure. I can't plant my winter cover crops until it cools down and we get some rain.
When I came in to work on this post, I had sweat running down the side of my face. I honestly can hardly wait to say to summer 2026, "Good riddance. Your time came and now it's gone." (Note to self...read this post in January when it's 3° F outside.)