Weather: Hit 100°F at 1:30 p.m. Climbed to 103 by 5 p.m. and stayed there a few hours.
My wife had a rare 1-11 p.m. shift today, so she was here in the morning and gone the rest of the day.
I mowed first thing this morning; it was already hot. With a lot of care, water, and occasional fertilizer, our lawn has really flourished. I’d estimate it’s among the top two or three lawns on the street.
Some things I’ve learned while caring for a small lawn:
* There are many types of Bermuda grass (I’d always thought it was just one). Some varieties are much prettier than others — less pokey, less seed pods, more turf-like, darker green — but that kind spreads more slowly and likes more water.
* Weeds like water more than Bermuda grass does; occasional heavy watering (as opposed to daily light watering) is much better for the lawn.
* There is no spray that will kill weeds, except the kind that will also kill lawn grass; weeds need to be pulled up by the roots, by hand.
* Bermuda grass likes to be mowed high and often
* St. Augustine grass (of which I have several sod squares in the back) spreads faster and farther than Bermuda when it’s wet, but simply cannot stand the high heat in direct sun without regular rain. So St. Augustine starts taking over in spring, or after a good rain, but when it gets hot and dry, the Bermuda is the only thing that will stay healthy.
* Fescue is nearly worthless in this climate, except in the winter — it fades to zero in the summer, but comes back heartily in late fall
We swam for about an hour; there were two other mothers at the pool, with four or five kids, one of them very close to Rebecca’s age. She had plenty of fun. Then, after showers, we ate a quick lunch and my wife was off to work.
After Rebecca’s nap, I took her to Lowe’s, which she always enjoys, and bought a new roller brush … We decided to use the leftover paint from the bathroom #2 job and paint the laundry room the same color. That’ll happen in a few days.
In the evening, I was trying to clean up a little, while Rebecca was dancing around trying to get my attention as if the house was on fire. Finally I looked down: “What is it?!” She had put on her shoes by herself and was trying to show me. Wow. (And they were on the correct feet.)
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Good job Rebecca!
It has been unbearably humid here. When it hits 100, I don’t want to leave the house. :(
Cassie: And in the old photos, people are always wearing suits or long dresses with high collars. It’s no wonder reaching age 50 was a huge feat for them. If I dressed as they did and had no air conditioning, I’d be fainting dead away every 15 minutes or so. :-)