After a summer of too much rain we hit a pretty nasty dry spell in late September and October. Just last week our city’s fire department responded to 14 storm sewer drain fires in one day. They occur when the wind blows dry leaves into the drain and some careless person tosses their cigarette. POOF!
Usually by October I’m preparing the garden for winter, not turning on my soaker hoses, but I was getting a little worried about some of my perennials. All of my astilbes turned brown and crispy. Other plants have completely disappeared. All that’s left is a plant marker and a bare patch of soil.
Our lawn contracted the worst case of rust I’ve ever seen. After I was done raking the leaves last week, my rake and garden shoes practically glowed with orange spores.
We finally got some much-needed rain over the weekend. Usually the songbirds look miserable when it rains, but even they seemed relieved and thankful.
