June to September in the high desert are marked with mostly cloudless days.
Accompanying this is an upward trend on the thermometer. We have gotten pretty adept at direct sun avoidance, but it takes effort by the middle of July.
An additional problem has been added. Incidents of wildfire are on the rise. It’s not just the threat to our home, but we’ve pulled up to some fire closed roads in the past. That can put a damper on anyone’s plans.
As days get warmer, earlier, we retreat to the comfort of AC. E-readers are kept well stocked for the blistering hot afternoons that will be here soon enough.
Before the full on summer weather hit, we managed to complete a few projects aimed at mitigation.
The side porch got sun screening. This makes BBQing a more pleasant task.
We also stretched out our gardening and landscaping. This was the first place we’ve lived that didn’t have some type of garden.
Oh, of course there were trees and a few pots of flowers. This year however, that changed.
JQ may not have a green thumb, but she has a gardener’s heart.
With concern about access to fresh greens, given current conditions, we set up a couple of small raised beds.
These got planted with hearty greens, garlic and onions. Once the gardening bug struck, it was hard to hold back.
Additional pots and plots got added to the mix. A space where a failed tree planting from the former owners got a crab apple tree.
More flowers were tucked among the rocky landscape and some “Fruit Snacks” columnar apple trees got put in containers beside the house.
A pair of Birch were put in the spot were an Aspen had been.
That seems like a lot, but most of the projects were part of cleaning up the area around the house.
We’re not sure how the edible plants will fare . . . this is after all a desert.
That said, we’re enjoying the patio along with additional visits from neighborhood birds and a squirrel that has taken to stuffing peanuts into the garden beds.