Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, your popular host, Mani the purebred border collie, the hot-weather-loathing purebred border collie, here today to tell you how incredibly hot I’ve been. You may remember me from such heat-related posts as “Super Roasting”, “Beyond Super Roasting”, “Still Roasting”, “Mostly Roasting Again”, “Into The Garden, Endlessly Roasting”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose. It’s like about ninety-nine degrees (F) and nine percent humidity. 
It’s been so super hot that I’ve barely been able to move. I did get to go into the canal on one of my walks. (Not this part right here, because there are big rocks on the bottom to control erosion where the canal comes out of the culvert.) The water comes from the mountains.
It’s been unbelievably roasting hot and I guess I’ll show some pictures. I was about to say “hot pictures” but the guy I live with said really not to say that, and when I asked why, he said really extra not to, rather than explaining, so I guess they’re just pictures. Of the garden, in the heat.
Here’s a backwards picture of the first picture. You can’t see me in the window. He didn’t know the Yucca faxoniana and torreyi (behind it) would get so huge. I mean he thought they would die.
Still in the front yard, which by the way is never irrigated.
The guy I live with likes hot dry weather. So he says. Not all the time, of course. Well, right now, he’s not liking it so much, with the hot flashes and low energy. He went to a prostate cancer support group yesterday and said he learned stuff about how long this might go on. I stayed home and baked.
(He goes next week for a blood test to see whether or not all of this hormone therapy and radiation worked. He’s pretty much indifferent to all of this since it’s out of his control.)
Quercus undulata and Juniperus monosperma.
Well, back to the heat. Since there’s nowhere else to go. It’s hot everywhere.
The desert willow certainly likes heat. Maybe you remember that we feared this plant had died, but now it’s taller than the guy I live with, and still growing. It came back. It used to be a fairly big tree here.
form from west Texas.
At this time of year the guy I live with starts thinking about warmer climates, which I find obnoxiously weird since he knows full well we purebred border collies do not like hot weather. I keep having to say that. We really hate it. It does cool off nicely at night, at least.
I know we’re not going to move to Tucson or any place like that (where it doesn’t cool off at night like it does here), but I think that’s not really what all this liking hot dry weather nonsense is all about. I think it’s because someone who was a professional horticulturist told him he was “no gardener” because he liked hot dry weather (not all the time), which was just another example of someone telling him what sort of a person he was and what he wanted to do in his life.
All the guy I live with ever wanted to do in his life was work in a nursery or a record store. Not be anything that people thought he was, or thought he wanted to be. So that comment stuck with him. I think he likes cooler weather more.
the path between the shed and the enclosure
Whatever; he ordered a headset for the Walkman and so now he can listen to CDs while he sits on the couch with me, in the evening. If you asked him what his idea of a good time was he would say that.
His wife had a Walkman (it’s downstairs now, but doesn’t have a headset); she would go out into “the enclosure” which she built just for herself, sit on the bench there, with books and the Walkman, with Chess, the purebred border collie who live here before me, at her feet, and if you asked her what her idea of a good time was she would have said that.
a peep into the “way back”, and my Private Lawn.
I know this would be more interesting if I talked about myself instead of the guy I live with, but it’s been too hot to do any gardening, so things like Walkmans become more interesting, at least to him. I like sleeping.
Anyway it’s pretty good that he decided to let all this music back into his life; he just ordered a copy of Fear of Music. He said that he played the song “Heaven” over and over again when Pooka, a purebred border collie who lived here before me, died. It’s like Radiohead again.
the “furnace garden”; it’s really hot here
It was kind of dumb for him to give away all those compact discs after his wife died, but he thought it was a good idea at the time; other people got to listen to the music, so that part was fine. And he doesn’t want to get all the CDs back anyway. It does amount to paying twice as much, or half again as much, for the CDs, but he said that’s what he gets for making a decision so soon after his wife died. It’s not that big of a deal, though; it’s making him happy, listening to the music again. Today, and last night, it was something called “Pink Floyd”.
He kept singing “Set the controls for the heart of the sun; the heart of the sun, the heart of the sun”, like it wasn’t already hot enough for me.
I guess that’s it for today. I’m kind of surprised I didn’t melt. The guy I live with said I had an appointment at a grooming place next week, and I asked him if that meant I just lay there, in a swimming pool, and watched TV while I ate biscuits, and he said, “Well…”, so I’m not sure what this means. He said I’ll find out.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
Hi Mani. It’s funny because all I ever wanted to do was work at a nursery too. Someone once told me when I was a kid that I would need to learn all the botanical names of plants. I checked into that and thought there was no way I could do that. I wasn’t smart enough. So I never followed my dream of working in a nursery.
Music is healing.
I am right there with you on the hot days of summer. I am glad you were able to cool off in the water on your walk. That makes life so much easier.
Tell the guy you live with to hang in there with the hot flashes. Not a fun experience that’s for sure. Maybe you can share a nice cool drink with him.
The guy I live with can memorize plant names. I could talk more about that but am using the phone here. It cooled off a lot today but there was a lot of really loud thunder too.We’re not sure why we didn’t an email message for your comment.Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
” Well, right now, he’s not liking it so much, with the hot flashes and low energy. He went to a prostate cancer support group yesterday and said he learned stuff about how long this might go on. I stayed home and baked.” C’mon man. Give yourself permission to put an AC unit into at least one room.
Too late; it’s cooled off today. Now we have an 80 percent chance of severe thunderstorms.
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Watched some of the NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway near Denver this weekend and the weather looked lovely but “Super Roasting”, “Beyond Super Roasting”, “Still Roasting”, “Mostly Roasting Again”, “Into The Garden, Endlessly Roasting will return again one day. Never too late to stick an AC unit into a window bro.
We could hear them from our house; Bandimere is not very far away. It’s about 80 degrees now.
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Mee-yow wow iss too *hot* there Mani!! Wee feel like 105 F with Hue-midex…it is hard to breethe an mee not want to go out. Mee not know Colliess not like heet; mee MUST bee part Collie!! UGH mee just wantss it to rain an kewl thingss off so mee can sit out inn Condo with LadyMeow….well her not sit inn mee Condo butt you know what mee meenss!
LadyMeow sayss shee empythizess with yore ‘guy’ ’bout *hot* flashes as shee went thru Mani….no wati…Many…ummm Mennypawss from ages 50-55….(Mee thinkss mee dodged a bullet there!) Shee suggested yore ‘guy’ take cold showers an shee said to say shee iss NOT beein ‘funny’ an hee will know what shee meenss! Mee has NO clue; do you know what shee meenss Mani??
Mee hopes yore tempyture comess down an you can enjoy yore walkiess again an yore ‘guy’ not all *hit* an feelin ucky!
***purrsss*** BellaDharma
Thanks. It’s not nearly as hot today. But now that it’s cool, we have an 80 percent chance of severe thunderstorms with big hail. It’s either one thing or the other here. The guy I live with isn’t terribly unhappy but when he went to the nurseries with his friend he was drenched in perspiration almost the whole time. We’re ready for much cooler weather now.
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Meow meow mee feelss badlee fore yore ‘guy’ feelin *hot* all THE time! That must bee ucky! It iss kewlin off here nicelee an wee have fans bringin breeze inn to our place. Hope you did not get those wild stormss….wee had sum funder an rain last note butt nothin reel scarey!
Thanks. I guess they had storms to the north of us, but we only got a little rain. The guy I live with, and maybe I’ve already said this, went to a prostate cancer support group the other day and they said the effects of the hormone therapy could last for a while. Or even forever. (Well, not forever…) Or not. It will eventually get cooler. We don’t mind the heat if we can use the fans, but we haven’t always been able to because of smells from outside.
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Whew Mani wee were worried as wee saw on Tee V that sum partss of Colorado got vishuss rain an BIG hail….iss guud you did not get it!!
An that Chemo was purrty inn-tense….mee an LadyMeow reelly hope *hot* flashes go away soon. Yore ‘guy’ has suffered enuff!
*purrsss* BellaDharma
Thanks, no we didn’t get any rain or anything icky, fortunately. It’s not chemo, though, it’s Androgen Deprivation Therapy. Hot flashes and low energy. Now, how the doctors can tell that the guy I live with has low energy is beyond me. Like he hardly does anything anyway.
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Hot here too (lows in the mid 80s at night…..) and very very humid. We are doing major dog baths, haircuts and brushing to help with heat retention, anyway, and are including walks along creeks to our repertoire for the duration.
The willow is amazing, I need to look that up to learn more about it. Not that it would be happy here, but just for general knowledge.
ceci
It’s a lot cooler here now. The guy I live with says that the desert willow isn’t really a willow but a member of the catalpa family, and is native from western Texas to southern California and south in Mexico.
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Oh, goody, you showed the front yard where you’re not allowed to tred, Mani. Looks so kempt. We put in air conditioning last year for Shredder and Petey. Haven’t used it yet but there will come a time … hasn’t really turned summer yet here on the beach, but forecast looks like weather is hotting this week. Such a lovely path you have back to your private lawn, the *faraway* sight we catch looks so inviting. Thank you for showing the desert willow, which I’ve said we just planted in the parkway. My husband now knows the tree looks like oleander – to him – and I think the flower resembles iris. Our Sirius station plays A LOT of Pink Floyd lately. Good luck with all the baking and roasting, and do give us the details of your spa day. I bet you do get a biscuit.
Thanks. I do get to go into the front yard, at least from the door to the driveway.
This may come as like a total shock, but we are not exactly rolling in money, so the guy I live with says that when his mom’s estate is finally settled he’ll be spending some money on home improvements. New roof, driveway, locust tree removed, and maybe, just maybe, air conditioning.
The guy I live with remembers oleanders. There were a couple in pots, here, years ago. And supposedly hardy ones in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
The thing he thinks about when he thinks about oleanders is this one time he was admiring someone’s Hibiscus syriacus in full bloom, whole row of plants, and the homeowner said, “Those are oleanders from Hawaii”. Lol.
Aging (cough) in place – which we are darn well doing, thank you very much – is facilitated with a.c.
We have a fan on right now. Hunter. From Restoration Hardware, a long time ago.
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It took me a minute to find you in the first picture. I was looking at all your exquisite Yucca! Your desert willow is rad too. I am familiar with the Chitalpa, but have never seen a Chilopsis. I might have seen one at a rest stop just inside Arizona from New Mexico, but it was bare in the middle winter, so I really don’t know what it was.
Rhody dislikes warm weather too, but 90 degrees is not all that hot. We are nor far from sea level, so the sunlight is not as intense outside. There is enough shade to go around. Also, the air is not so stagnating.
The guy I live with says it’s 80 today, which is acceptable. We tried a chitalpa or two, but nothing. It might be the Catalpa bignonioides part, which I guess is hardy, but loathes this climate (like a lot of other things).
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Catalpa was planted here during the Victorian period, and is now naturalized in a docile sort of way. It was cool to see the growing wild in Oklahoma.
The guy I live with said he think he remembers some when he was a kid in Long Beach.
That seems like an odd tree for Long Beach, but there were probably some there, It was pretty universal for a long time. Heck, they must be at least some there right now.
Well it was a long time ago.
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I was just told a few hours ago that I will be pruning one in the morning. They grow so fast!
I guess that sounds like fun.
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Actually, it wasn’t. It was just two small limbs to cut off for clearance above parked cars. It was sort of disappointing.
Oh well, huh.
Since you happen to be . . . well . . . canine, do you happen to know why other . . . people of the canine persuasion want to come help with the chores in the garden, and then just lay around? That is what Rhody did while I pruned the catalpa.
Lovely flowers on that desert willow. I think it’s not so bad to write about “hot pictures,” and it would be really funny to see the disappointment on the faces of those searching for “hot pictures,” but the guy you live with has a point. Why mention how hot it is, maybe we wouldn’t want to see the pictures if we knew in advance they were hot?
It’s hot here in Southern Oregon too, but the weeds love it. And stink bugs. I have stink bugs of all sorts, and I hate bugs (not just insects, true bugs). You would hate them too.
My father wanted a nursery too. He grew lots of things, and would mail himself seeds home from vacations (with USDA approval of course!), even from Europe. There were a few things he would have loved to do, but the depression happened, and WWII, and that’s life. So, he worked in an office in San Francisco, and gardened on the weekends in his lath house. He was the only person at the time in the neighborhood who made “leaf mold,” or what we call compost now.
Have a great spa day at the groomers!
Thanks. The guy I live with said I would love getting my butt brushed. I am dubious. There was a really big stink bug on the patio the other night. I was going to try it, but the guy I live with, as usual, said not to. You never know, they might be good. Running a nursery is probably harder work than just having a job.
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” The guy I live with said I would love getting my butt brushed.” Mani, has there been mention of a sanitary trim? If you would like a description, contact me privates…..ly.
I’ll be going there tomorrow. It’s a place recommended by my doctor. The guy I live with says I can hardly wait.
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I. Glad you can listen to music again. I used to, a lot. I don’t much anymore. I wish I did. Maybe I will.