Summer, My Garden, and the 4th of July

     It's July 1st and my garden has been planted for weeks.  Tomatoes are on the vines.   I've been picking and eating green beans for days. The zucchini plants are covered with squash blossoms.  It is always hard for me to leave and go anywhere (even France!) this time of year.  I worry about what will happen to my vegetable plants when I'm not around.  Will the green worms devour my cabbages?  Will the birds eat my strawberries?  But most of all -- will my plants get enough moisture?  After the recent heavy rains Minnesota has received, it's hard to believe watering should be a concern.  But things have dried up and we are now experiencing extreme heat.  So, what to do when it's the week of the 4th of July and my husband is ready to head "up north"?

     Well... what you do is, devise a platform to attach the oscillating sprinkler to, secure it in place on top of the rose arbor, and put an automatic timer on the outdoor faucet. 

     During the practice run, it seemed to work just fine.  I have the timer set for one hour of early morning watering -- which seems a bit excessive -- but by the end of a 90 degree day the plants are desperate for more.

     Potted plants were moved near the arbor to benefit from the new sprinkling system, leaving the patio looking very bare.

                                 So now, we can all relax for a few days (?)

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