Thursday, July 21, 2016

Wildfires and Wild Four O'Clocks

A year after she puts down roots, you will never need to water her again.
Hot winds blow, relentlessly. Stirring up trouble across our wild meadows.

No rain in many weeks. All that was green is turning brittle and brown.


The summer drought. Never-ending, blustery winds... Conspire to create these heartbreaking wildfires. Threatening to cancel our grand mountain adventure. And, that will be the second one this year.

I sit here, with the blessed air conditioning cranked to full blast. On call for a week long horse back riding adventure ~ scheduled to depart tomorrow evening.

This was a photo from yesterday's news ~ near where we are planning to ride.

We're waiting to hear if it's safe to head up there ~ into Wyoming, where wildfire season is wreaking havoc.


In the midst of all this weirdness... the 4 O'Clocks are making up for everything!

The heat? The drought? Who cares??

They are lovin' it!


* These beauties got their name (and their hutzpah) from handling extreme high heat by waiting to flower until the end of the day. After the sun dips below the mountains and the air cools, clusters of pretty pink flowers open en masse. Hence the name 4 O'Clock.

Aren't they amazing?

** We all have that one spot in our garden, where nothing grows. If it's a sunny spot, give 4 O'Clocks a try. 
- Plant them in the most inhospitable spot in your garden. And, make sure you're happy with that spot because they cannot be transplanted. They put down long, strong roots ~ to siphon water from wherever they can find it. Once uprooted, they will surely die.





8 comments:

Lona said...

What beautiful 4 o'clocks. I hate to hear that there are wildfires in so many places. Seems there are more of them than ever. It makes one sad to think of all the beauty that is lost not to mention peoples property and lives. Take care Kate.

Bonnie K said...

I never thought much about four o'clocks. I have a spot they might like. I'll try them next year. Hope you get to go on your trip. Thanks for sharing.

Janie said...

I hope the wildfires didn't spoil your ride.
We are growing 4 o'clocks, too. They're so easy, not to mention beautiful.

Unknown said...

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