Today I will be linking up with Wildflower Wednesday to share the beautiful wildflowers blooming in my neighborhood, southern middle Tennessee, USA, zone 6b/7a. However, it is too hot to be outside taking pictures. It hasn't rained around here in forever and my garden is looking quite sad. I decided to drive around in my air-conditioned car and take shots of magnificent flowers from the comfort of my front seat. It didn't happen. This was the temperature outside (96 degrees) according to my car; I was stopped at a red-light when I took the picture. To make it worse, the relative humidity was 57% so the heat index chart stated it felt like 110 degrees. The high humidity makes you feel hotter. The moisture in the air reduces the effectiveness of sweating by preventing the evaporation of perspiration from your skin. You sweat and stay wet. It is miserable and dangerous.
This is the best I could find, scraggly Queen's Anne's Lace among the litter. Not very impressive, I know.
I did find these cattails blooming in a drainage ditch.
After burning up a fourth of a tank of gas, I realized if it wasn't being watered by someone, it was not worth looking at. This month is an epic fail for Wildflower Wednesday.
So I turned my short attention span to other interesting things. Isn't she the cutest, most fashionable scarecrow ever?
The cows were smart, they had moved out of the sun and were resting in the shade right beside a creek.
Sheep? Not as smart as cows. They could find the shade but didn't seem to realize it was hotter standing scrunched up in a bunch instead of spreading out.
Just when you think it can't get any hotter, I passed a government road crew also under a shade tree. Bless their hearts. Sitting on top of an asphalt paving machine must be a dangerously hot job. Yet they were gracious when a crazy lady jumped out of her car and asked to take their picture for her blog. I thanked them but should have been a bit nicer by complimenting them and saying they were way smarter than sheep.
UPDATE: Do not be fooled by these men's friendly smiles. They are trouble! Do check and see what mischief they caused in September's Wildflower Wednesday, but first read Wildflower Wednesday, June, Ditch Daylilies.
Bahaha "Way smarter than sheep!" I would have loved to see their reaction!
ReplyDeleteNot me! I didn't want to push my luck. There were more of them than me and oh, were they hot. I walked past one of the machines and could feel the heat radiating a good distance away. Whew.
DeleteIt is astonishing how green the grassland on your photos is! Despite great heat. Maybe it is because the humidity is so high ? The plant with the name Queen Anne´s Lace looks to me like what we call in Germany Wild Carrot. It also smells like real carrots. And that strange name. Was is the unhappy Anne Boleyn? Who knows ....
ReplyDeleteChristel, you are right. It is the wild carrot which grows everywhere here. It is the reason I can never save any carrot seeds, they are always crossed. No one is sure which queen it was named after; I have read different legends. The truth is lost to history.
DeleteThe grass is still green since we have gotten some rain plus the dew is heavy in the early mornings. My feet always get wet walking to the garden.
You made a valiant attempt and the Cat o nine tails and Echinachea are lovely. I feel your pain....I hate, hate, hate hot and humid weather. I garden early in the morning and run into the house to shower the sticky sweat off me and stay in air conditioning.
ReplyDeleteSally, it feels like the summers are getting hotter and the winters are colder. It isn't old age, is it? (Rhetorical question, the answer should be "No, you aren't getting old")
DeleteThat's very high temperature! We get up to 33Deg C... They flowers look so beautiful and the scenery too!
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog!
The weather has been miserable here in Middle TN and I appreciate your staying cool while trying to find wildflowers! I agree with one of your other commenters the Echinacea and cattails are perfect. gail
ReplyDeleteJeannie, the mail box and coneflowers are the prettiest picture! Is that your front yard?
ReplyDeleteNo Athanasia it is not mine, wish it was, but no. I passed by it while out driving looking for wildflowers in bloom. Everything was dead and burned. The day after I took the pictures, it rained, a slow steady soaking rain and now everything is looking lush.
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