Summer Season

Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations Information, Weather, Gardening Chores Compiled by Mike Garofalo
Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
January	April	July	October
February	May	August	November
March	June	September	December

July

Repost from July 2024:

We will  have hot weather today - over 93F (34C). This high temperature is infrequent in Vancouver, Washington. 

We did all our watering chores and gardening projects early in the morning.  Then, we rested in the shade in the afternoon and read, listened to music, and napped.

Listening to Adam Hurst on cello Obscura, and 2 albums by the chromatic harmonica virtuoso, Gianluca Littera.

Even a squirrel was lounging below the wisteria vine.

I set down pavers in the area below the back bedroom shower. It is a paved area, part of the back porch, and under total shade of the wisteria vines.

Karen worked in the vegetable garden and on potting various plants.

  

The Spirit of Gardening Website

Sunshine and Shadows - Quotations

"The eastern light our spires touch at morning,
The light that slants upon our western doors at evening,
The twilight over stagnant pools at batflight,
Moon light and star light, owl and moth light,
Glow-worm glowlight on a grassblade.
O Light Invisible, we worship Thee!"
-  T.S. Eliot

"Darkness is to space what silence is to sound, i.e., the interval."
-  Marshall McLuhan, Through the Vanishing Point

"What ideal, immutable Platonic cloud could equal the beauty and perfection of any ordinary everyday cloud floating over, say, Tuba City, Arizona, on a hot day in June?"
-  Edward Abbey 

Gardening in the Month of July

July - Quotes, Poems, Sayings for Gardners

Months - Quotes

High Summer Feast Day, August 1st

July Gardening Chores 
For Red Bluff, California, USDA Zone 9


Water plants: take advantage of cool morning hours, use daytime shade.
Water plants deeply and less frequently.
Water potted plants carefully on very hot days.
Mow lawns, but don't mow low. 
Mulch and compost: straw, cuttings, leaves, twigs, chips, shredded paper, garbage.
Water compost pile areas. 
Manage cutworms and other garden pests.
Weed around vegetables and shrubs. 
Plant for autumn vegetable crops. 
Use straw mulch to help control weeds and cool soil.
Maintenance on lawn mowing equipment.
Pick and save or eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Dry fruit in sun. 
Water plants.  Use irrigation ditch water efficiently and effectively. 
Get up early to work in the cool morning hours. 
Thin out excess fruit on trees.
Mulch with straw, chips, compost. 
Train vines on support structures. 
Read, listen to music, relax and sleep in the shade.
Tend to and enjoy annuals in bloom. 


 

Morning Gardening Projects

Summertime afternoon temperatures are now in the 80F - 93F range.  I work outdoors on garden projects starting at 6:30 am.  I rest indoors in the afternoon and evenings.  

July Gardening: Quotes, Notes, Lore and Chores

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit.  A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world."
-  Ada Louise Huxtable

I worked on the area by our mailbox at the southeast edge of our suburban lot.  I weeded, planted more lavender, and placed wood bark chips on the area under the crepe myrtle tree.  My neighbor, Dick, keeps a very nice front yard and garden.

I worked on the area to the garden bed area immediately to the west of our front door.  I still have work to do to complete this morning garden project. 


"Answer July—
Where is the Bee—
Where is the Blush—
Where is the Hay?

Ah, said July—
Where is the Seed—
Where is the Bud—
Where is the May—
Answer Thee—Me—"
-  Emily Dickinson, Answer July 

Gardening in Different Places

Since we now live in the Columbia River Valley in Clark County, Vancouver, Washington, North West USA ... our gardening and yard chores will be different.

I believe that our USDA zone in Vancouver is Hardiness Zone 8a (10F-15F)

Our chore list will change significantly in the coming months.  We now live on a parcel that is .3 acres in the unincorporated area of Vancouver, Washington, while, before we lived for 17 years on a five acre parcel of land in Red Bluff, California.  We lived before in a rural area; now we live in a suburban neighborhood, part of the Portland, Oregon, Metropolitan area.  

One constant is the daily watering of potted plants of summer annuals, and some potted perennials and shrubs.  


July - Quotes, Poems, Sayings for Gardners

Months - Quotes

High Summer Feast Day, August 1st

July Gardening Chores
For Red Bluff, California, USDA Zone 9


Water plants: take advantage of cool morning hours, use daytime shade.
Water plants deeply and less frequently.
Water potted plants carefully on very hot days.
Mow lawns, but don't mow low.
Mulch and compost: straw, cuttings, leaves, twigs, chips, shredded paper, garbage.
Water compost pile areas.
Manage cutworms and other garden pests.
Weed around vegetables and shrubs.
Plant for autumn vegetable crops.
Use straw mulch to help control weeds and cool soil.
Maintenance on lawn mowing equipment.
Pick and save or eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Dry fruit in sun.
Water plants.  Use irrigation ditch water efficiently and effectively.
Get up early to work in the cool morning hours.
Thin out excess fruit on trees.
Mulch with straw, chips, compost.
Train vines on support structures.
Read, listen to music, relax and sleep in the shade.
Tend to and enjoy annuals in bloom. 


 

Drag Me Down Damn Hot

For the past 10 days, we have had daytime temperatures from 105F to 112F. 

Other than 6 hours in the morning (5:30 am - 10:30 am), it is just too damn hot for me in the afternoon.  I get all my gardening chores, watering chores, and outdoor chores done in the early morning.  

As I get older, the extreme heat is much harder for me to tolerate.  

It has sapped my energy and interest in just about all activities.  

I did enjoy, yesterday afternoon, sitting in front of a fan and watching a DVD recording of the opening day of the Tour de France, and sipping iced tea.  

Independence Day

We will enjoy the holiday at home.  We will spend our time gardening, reading, and relaxing.

Another day in Red Bluff, California, with very hot temperatures over 110F with humidity of over 40%.  Heavy clouds and thunderstorms are coming.

We start our day at 4 am doing indoor chores, walking and Tai Chi practice, watering, and gardening before temperatures climb over 90F. 

Fortunately, we live in a country and state in peacetime.  Food is plentiful for people working in America.  Governmental and private support networks help the impoverished.  Electricity and water systems are working.  Most people are relatively sensible and don't feel the urge to enslave or kill others over religious and political differences.  Hopefully, we can remain at peace.

Many thanks to all the decent and hardworking men and women, blue collar and white collar workers, homemakers, and service providers that have greatly contributed to our prosperity.  Thanks to all the men and women working in educational services, human services, fire and police protective services, and medical services that have improved and enhanced our lives.  

I thank all the men and women that have served in the Armed Forces that help keep us safe and secure.  May our governmental leaders make wise decisions to keep us at peace and encourage us to contribute to the continued prosperity we enjoy.  I was a volunteer in the United States Air Force from 1969-1973; hopefully, others will also help in their communities in America in some constructive ways.  May peace and productivity return to the many war torn countries around the world. 

Have a safe and responsible Fourth of July!