Last week we talked about how hot it was. We’ve had a small reprieve, but the temperatures will go up again this week. Surely this can’t go on forever. I keep thinking fall is on the horizon.

            This week, under the air conditioning, I finished the first draft of a middle grade reader I love. I can’t wait to publish it so you can read it. I think it is cute and kids will love the adventure. I do.

            However, every night, as I water my flower beds, I make plans for the ragged, sunburned plants that once graced my property. Irises need to be thinned out and are overgrown with Bermuda grass. Why is it that the best Bermuda grass grows in between the irises or cracks in the sidewalk when you need it in the lawn? That’s some healthy stuff! I’ve pulled it out and transplanted the hardy roots in blank spaces before and it works. But this time we sprayed it with a grass killer that won’t hurt the flowers. As I stand there nightly watering the flowers I’ve come up with a plan for a month or so down the road when it begins to cool. I’m going to cut them down, dig them all up (making sure the soil is moist), removed any and all grass and weeds, and only return a certain number back to the bed. It’s really the only way to clean up the mess and they will be healthy in the spring.

            Next comes the mint. It all goes. I am going to cut it down and then dig it up. My daughter has a lot of Lantana, and I hope to get some to replace the invasive mint. It will be attractive, bloom in hot weather, and hopefully make my flower beds look better. If she doesn’t have enough to share, there are these things called greenhouses that sell it.

            At my age all this has to be done slowly, but it will be accomplished, in small increments with moist soil, a shovel, and loads of hydration.

            So, tell me what you have been doing in this blistering heat? Are your flowerbeds sunburned no matter what you do? How’s that manuscript coming?

            Stay cool out there and what are you doing, writing, reading, or creating this week?