Last month I told you that we
had been experiencing a late spring with unseasonably cold and snowy
weather: May was one of the snowiest Mays on record in Fairbanks. My news
for June is considerably different. It was very, very hot and dry! We had
several days with high temperatures above 32 C and may have even broke a
record or two. It has cooled down since, much to my relief (I do not enjoy
that hot weather!) but we are still very, very dry. Since the beginning of
June, we - in Ester - have had only just over 12 mm of rain, total. You can
imagine what that means for my garden, especially with the extremely hot
temperatures. Yes, until the last 2 days, when it cooled down, I had been
watering almost every morning. My rain barrels, which accumulate
precipitation runoff from our roof and the roof of my greenhouse, were very
helpful but even so I had to fill those closest to the garden once or twice
with water from our well. Now the plants are larger and better able to
withstand an extended period of drought so hand watering is not as
critical. Nevertheless, I am staying watchful even now when it is cooler.
I can report that there was some precipitation: a
shower had passed over just before I took the photo and there was 0.9 mm in
the rain gauge.
