Above: My neck pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) looks dead, hanging on the frame that holds the swing above the missing lake. This is what she looks like every day when I get there to tend her. I have a couple other vines in shadier locations that are not doing as well. Below: The same vine after a couple hours in the sprinkler. She perks right back up. This specimen is growing about 18" per day. An amazing feat in this difficult weather.
Most other Cucumber family (Cucurbitaceae) vines that I attempt to grow will wither and die if we go for months without rain. . . as we have this year. (Note that the genus Cucurbita includes gourds).
Above: My hand for scale with a leaf on this vine. It is really a monster. . . now if I can get some pumpkins I'd be very happy. Neck pumpkin is native to Central America and northern South America so it is more tolerant of hot, humid weather than the more common C. maxima or C. pepo (e.g. field pumpkins).
This ancestor of butternut squash is ideal for cooking (particularly pumpkin pie). It is most popular in the Mid-Atlantic states in areas with an Amish influence. The seeds were given to me by a friend from the Pennsylvania Dutch region of the country.
So far all the little pumpkins have fallen off the vine during the hot days. . . there are many more coming so I'm hopeful that the vine will get strong enough to produce some fruit.
At times today the sun was nothing but an orange ball in a background of smoke. . . at other times the sky cleared and the heat was brutal. Below: One of my many thermometers. . . this one in the shade of the back porch. . . reading an incredible 40° C. (that's 104° F.) around 6:00 pm this afternoon. Now try and convince me that our climate has not changed significantly. I like the irony of the penguins.
Below: One of many creatures that came out to talk to me this afternoon. I think they were all wondering what was happening with the weather. I keep the ponds cool and plenty of food on hand to feed all the wildlife stranded there. I haven't given any of them names, as yet. I keep hoping the rains will return and they'll go back to their natural habitats. . . around the lake.
Below: In the only house close to us on the lake lives someone who could not be categorized as a nature lover. For the 3rd time in as many weeks there was a crew severely hacking away at my beautiful oak trees. These Sand Live Oaks (Quercus geminata Small) are a special tree. They grow up only about 30 feet before spreading out in a gnarled fashion. My neighbor has now removed every limb that was anywhere near her property. Some of the large trees in the back were reduced to stumps. Her property is to the left. . .mine to the right. I was thinking today that she deserves to bake in this oppressive heat for killing all the trees. Of course it is her right to remove whatever hangs over. . . and she has.
My neighbor who hates trees loves religion. . . if only she'd look up and see what she's destroying. The oaks are filled with wildlife including this Barred Owl (Strix varia) who was munching away on snakes all afternoon.
The poor snakes don't have a chance if they're not hidden in one of the ponds. When they're out in the open trying to cool themselves the owls, hawks, and osprey grab them.
This is a small specimen. . . a youngster. He didn't pay much attention to me. He was more interested in lunch.
Below: Even the Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) are a bit confused by the wicked weather. . . or so it would seem. This large male was standing quietly under a tree for hours, near one of the sprinklers.
The weatherman promises some relief. . . and we did have a sprinkling of rain this evening. . . but I don't believe much of what they say anymore having lived through this latest drought.
The long range weather forecasting computer models including the NOGAPS and GFS, are predicting that a tropical disturbance capable of becoming a tropical depression could form in the southern Gulf of Mexico in the Bay of Campeche Tuesday or Wednesday. Unfortunately, there will be a strong ridge of high pressure over the Gulf next week, which would tend to keep any storm that might form far to the south, with impacts limited to Mexico and perhaps South Texas.
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