August Hot -- by June 1st.

​In May, we got cooler temperatures and rain. Come June 1st, we got temperatures in the high 80's to mid-90's, and bone dry air, thus making the entire state of Colorado a tinder box. 
​Just to give you an idea of the fun, my water bill, May to June, shot up from $20 bucks to $144 bucks -- and that is with all the high priced water saving sensors the sprinkler guy talked me into buying two summers ago.
​There remain dry patches and flopped over cauliflower everywhere.
I shouldn't say that about the cauliflower. They've been nothing but nice to me.
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​Some of the cauliflower are looking great. Others aren't forming solid heads as much as individual florets. I was wondering if this was common -- maybe the ones that break apart become chopped up into frozen cauliflower pieces by the Green Giant. All my reading has told me pretty much zilch about care and feeding. Just that they don't like hot weather. Too late! Get used to it, kids!
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​Here's the guy who keeps passing out mid-afternoon. Give him an additional drink and he perks right up. Notice how the florets are separating. Don't know how I'll ever be able to enter it into the Denver County Fair (also don't know how it would ever be able to win beside all the pot entries).
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​Peppers are doing well. The little Lunchbox Pepper plant, down center, is taking its own sweet time in getting started. I had to tell Furious George to stop yelling at him to grow. I think he's given it a complex of some sort.
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​Also doing well is the cucumber bush. We had a complete failure with it last year, but this year we're getting solid growth and the start of flowers.
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​The container sweet potatoes have also rooted well. I just hope we have enough room for them to grow. We got a great harvest of potatoes last year and they were absolutely delicious.  ("What? You're going to eat us after it took us all summer long to grow?")
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​Mr. Bitterman has taken a great amount of pride in Nora, the lower garden, this season. Just about everything has really taken off. All the tomatoes this season (with the exception of the Sweet 100s) were grown from seed starting in February.

​My wife, Becky, is just happy to have the kitchen table back for family dinners, even though the family now consists of her, me, one Proboscis Monkey and one Foul Tempered Chimpanzee. 

("That better be chocolate pudding you're flinging, Mister!")
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​The beans, cucumbers and acorn squash plants are also doing well in Nora, as are the weeds. I don't know where the darned things come from, but we've certainly got 'em by the score. Mr. Bitterman is happy to work on weeding Nora, while Furious George bitches and moans like crazy when he pulls them from Nick (the upper garden). I don't know what he's complaining about -- Nick has about 1/10th the weed problem of Nora.
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​Still, I really can't complain. Both gardens are off to a great start this year.
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​​And so is the butterfly garden. We fixed the watering problem we had -- adding a hose, a sectional sprayer and a timer. I wanted to put the Uncle Joe Stalin sprinkler in here, but I was voted down by Becky and a super-patriotic, bad-tempered chimp. I think the two are conspiring against me.

​I just like it down here. It's great in the evening, after the heat of the day has passed, and the bunnies like to hide in here from Roscoe, who can't figure out where everybody went. It's a good situation.
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​The Elmer Fudd Sunflower Garden ("I'm hunting wabbits. Heh, heh, heh.") is also doing well, although a microburst the other night not only took out the power for about 4 hours, but the second bud, right next to the main plant. Sheared the top right off. This is one of the joys of Colorado gardening ... just when you think you're home free (We've passed hail season!) everything goes belly up.

​I'm also very pleased with the herb containers. The chocolate mint has taken off, even though the peppermint is lagging behind, somewhat. I don't know if an animal got to it, or it just suffered transplant shock. It seems to be coming along now. The herbs, mainly parsley and basil, are doing great.

​(The indoor basil in the AeroGarden was taking over the kitchen. When we cut it back over the weekend, we found one of the dogs it had snatched off the floor. She's fine, if shaken up a bit.)
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​​The boys are once again in an argument. This time, I figure it's heat-induced. Also, Mr. Bitterman has begun to hang out with a pack of Howler Monkeys from Jefferson County who keep interrupting Furious George as he tries to binge watch "Killing Eve," his new favorite.
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​To get some privacy, Furious also wants to build a one man bomb shelter underneath Nick, the upper garden. After the President pissed off Canada, Germany, Japan and every other friend we ever had at the G-7, Furious figures he might need it if Trumpolini pisses off somebody who already has a grudge against us.

​He likes this model shelter. He's just wondering if the suit is required.
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