And the Heat Sets In

And, so it begins . . . .the dog days of summer. Our forecast does not "really" include any rain but since it is not as hot as last year, I think my garden shall survive.

7 Day Forecast - °F | °C

wed	thu	fri	sat	sun	mon	tue
jul 25 P Cloudy 97° 75°	jul 26 M Sunny 98° 77°	jul 27 M Sunny 98° 77°	jul 28 M Sunny 100° 77°	jul 29 M Sunny 101° 78°	jul 30 M Sunny 101° 78°	jul 31 P Cloudy 100° 78°

Details for Wednesday, July 25
Fair to Partly Cloudy Skies. Lows in the middle 70s. Highs in the middle to upper 90s.

Sunrise: 6:31 AM Sunset: 8:23 PM

Moonrise: 1:07 PM Moonset: 12:01 AM

Moonphase: Waxing Crescent

Direction: S (180°) Speed: 10mph (16km/h, 9kts)

One must get up early to spend time in the garden and when one does, she misses the posts for Wildflower Wednesday. . .almost. Luckily I was reminded by blog friends Dee at Red Dirt Ramblings (http://reddirtramblings.com/) and Gail at Clay and Limestone (http://www.clayandlimestone.com).

This little vine grows along the shaded roads here in the piney woods of East Texas. The bloom of Milkvine (Matelea), although small and to some insignificant, is a deep purple and the hairy stems support pretty heart-shaped leaves. It bears a fruit. . . a pod resembling a cucumber.

Not a showy plant and flower but it makes me happy when I see it  next to my mailbox. And isn't that what gardening should be. . . .making someone happy? Alfred Austin, The Garden that I Love, 1894 said it best. "The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul."