I am trying out Wednesday as my turnaround day for the rest of the summer. An extra day in Oakland lets me enjoy a bit of cooler weather and allows more time for professional work. When I need a break I tend the garden in Oakland, which is a little neglected. I trimmed the dead growth off the monkey flower, and trimmed back the trumpet vine to keep it off my neighbor’s driveway. I don’t want to pay for a paint job to remove a scratch on the new car. Despite heavy trimming to accommodate the house painting last winter, the vine thrives and is more spectacular than ever.
I came up through North Camanche Parkway this afternoon; it is becoming my favorite road with broad vistas of the reservoir and the road that leads down to the bridge with blue water on either side.
I stopped at the circle garden on the way in and gave all the plants supplemental water, trying also to keep the mulch soaked. High temperature today was 102 degrees, just as I was coming across the San Joaquin Valley. The program is keeping all the plants alive during the next two months, the hottest months of the year.
Temperature is 90 degrees at 9.00 at night when I am going to bed.
A Year at the Snake 