Hot and Dry Gripes

I am tired of endless hot and sunny days, we haven’t had more than a trace of rain in 6 weeks. There is only about a 30% chance at the most that we will get any rain this week too. Storms pass overhead, thunder and lightning crashing, but the rain never comes. It’s almost like our little corner of the world has been given a death sentence. The lawn crunches when you walk on it, the trees and shrubs are wilting, every night I spend a good chunk of time watering things so they don’t die. I try not to think of the plants I can’t get water too. The weeds are going crazy, [some weeds like dry weather], because after I water I don’t have time or energy left to pull them. The pasture is drying up, we let the sheep roam the back north area where the fence isn’t very good, but even that will soon be gone. First cutting of hay is getting very expensive because there hasn’t been a second cutting. I shudder to think what hay will cost this winter. There may be lots of lambburger in the freezer this winter. I don’t even want to look at our pond. Many ponds around here have dried right up. I am getting paranoid about fire, I haven’t let Steve burn our trash. There is a big stand of white pine across the road to the north and it is tinder dry in there. We have a huge dry brush pile just across the road. If a fire got started it would burn right across the road through the dry pasture to the house and barns with ease. A cigarette thrown from a car could set it all off.
The flies and yellow jackets are getting very horrendous. Stable and face flies make working outside miserable, forget sitting anywhere. Where are they breeding? Manure dries as soon as it hits the ground. At least the mosquitoes are scarce.
We have had less problems with fungal disease on things this year, my tomatoes are doing pretty good except for Bonnie Best, an old variety. But the potatoes dried off early and the onions made little bulbs even though I watered them.
Our county fair is next week. I didn’t personally enter any exhibits this year, although I am in charge of coordinating a large Master Gardener Exhibit. It’s the first time in about ten years I didn’t enter anything and I’m glad, all my garden is less than winning and it‘s too hot to bake or make fudge. That’s when it will probably rain since I have to be there everyday and it can get pretty miserable trudging around in mud. But I don’t care, I hope it pours all week.