Damp Surprises

Yes my friends, we got some measurable rain. Yipeeee.... When I first looked at the rain gauge I thought it said 3 inches. The red indicator is up there by the three but it was only 2 3/4". I am not complaining though. I would have been dancing in the streets for a quarter inch at this point.

The plants are responding like they are thrilled for a second chance.  The Climbing Hydrangea was dieing from the top down even though I was keeping it watered.  

Happily it is putting on some new growth. I just hope we continue to get enough rain to sustain that new growth.

I have our first mushrooms of the summer to report. This one popped up near the compost pile right where the grass has all died. Crabgrass doesn't count. The only good thing about crabgrass is that it doesn't take much water to make it green. 

This is some sort of shaggy mushroom. Don't worry I wouldn't begin to eat this thing. I don't eat wild mushrooms because I would forever be worrying about whether they were poisonous or not. It is beautiful in a sculptural way. 

This is another mushroom. Much shorter. Odd that they came in onesies. 

The staghorn fern is making babies.  

I have had this fern for years and it hasn't done much but grow a little larger. I set it outside every summer. This is where our little tree frog likes to reside. One of these days I will get brave enough to cut one of the babies off and mount it to a board as it probably should be grown. I have watched "how tos" on youtube. It looks like a simple project but I am a little intimidated about cutting into it. 

The Staghorn is also making it's spores. I have never seen this before. Maybe it was the stress of the summer? Maybe I watered more regularly due to the heat and drought??  

Another surprise was that the night blooming cactus bloomed again. Missed this one too even though it was higher on the plant than the first one. It seems to be blooming in onsies too. I have looked for other buds on the plant but can't see any. One of these days I will get some pictures of it blooming again. 

This orchid 'P. Long Pride Green Pixie' is blooming again. This is a first for me. I have never had an orchid rebloom. I am just thrilled that it is adding a bloom almost daily and it has a few more buds to go. 

Not only this one above but another one, 'P. I-Hsin Amy', has a couple of buds on it. I am feeling so successful despite the drought. 

Have you had any surprises in the garden this summer?