“What’s the word of the day?” I was asked yesterday.
I wasn’t too sure what was meant by that, and I couldn’t come up with anything at the time either. However, since that time I can think of a word for the summer, and that is “wet.”
The rains were plentiful in the spring and early summer, and even though they have tapered off, I still have had a lot of chances to get wet.
Because of my bad right shoulder, I thought I would invest in those new garden hoses that inflate while you are using them, and then retract when you turn the water off and drain the hose.
Even though I haven’t had to water plants often, I was pleased with the ease of watering with these light and flexible hoses. At first I purchased a 50-foot one for the frontyard and a 25-foot one for the backyard.
After watering for the first time, I realized that they weren’t quite long enough, so I removed the 25-foot one from the back and added it to the 50-foot one in front, and got a different 50-foot one for the back. At first I thought that solved my problems.
Of course, I got sprayers for the ends of each. I recall one day when I set down the sprayer to go and turn off the faucet, it accidentally landed on its back, with the spray coming straight up at me; wet was the word of that day.
More recently, the 50-foot hose in front suddenly bulged out and busted open, with the spray coming straight at me. Yes, I was soaked wet again.
Even more than that, hardly any of the flowers got watered. So, next I filled up containers with water and carried them to the flower bed to give them a little wetting. Somehow that flower bed on the west side of the house always gets over-planted, and this year is no different.
There are two kinds of cosmos, zinnias, dahlias and gladiolus, all crammed in, struggling for space and water.
Each spring, when I plant that area it seems so vast, and the seeds and bulbs are so small.
But, eventually they all start growing and need a little elbow room.
Since I am not going to pull any out, the least I can do is water them and hope they keep on blooming.
Of course, there were plenty of other times of getting wet: the times the rain dumped down on me at a ball game this summer, at the Relay for Life cancer walk last month, and then there were those stifling hot and humid weeks where I had to run the air conditioner.
Since late July and early August have been a bit below normal, I have already heard people complain that it has been a cold summer.
I disagree with that, but then I am not a fan of hot weather.
Now that I had a chance to purchase another hose to replace the one that blew out, we have been having rain. Those bright and cheery cosmos are looking happier, and the dahlias and gladiolus are finally beginning to bloom.
I will treasure each and every one of these last days in August. While I love the fall season the best, I do know the winter that follows can be harsh.
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