Drought: forced choices and the things that thrive

Over at the farm, they've had even less rain than we've had in the city. Normally this time of year, you have to start making choices: which annual plants are worth saving because they'll come out of dormancy in the fall and produce more flowers or vegetables? The tomatoes, maybe the cucumbers, certainly the cockscombs and a few other flowers. But this year, it's been so hot and dry for so long already, it's crisis point. No thought of saving the annuals anymore. All efforts must be made to save the perennials: the hostas, rosemallow bushes, the zinnias and sunflowers which will re-seed themselves, the lilac, the young fruit trees. The shock is that even some of the older trees seem to be suffering. I planted an oak sapling in the front yard at least four years ago; it's well-established, bushy and a couple of feet taller than me now, but it half looks like we could lose it. Even worse, my dad showed me a photo of our pond, down in the lower pasture: it's almost dried up. Never before in our 29 years of living there has this happened because the pond is fed by an underground spring. But I guess the spring has stopped now. My dad is watering the horses using a plastic kiddie swimming pool as a trough.

Meanwhile, in the city, people have sprinkler systems buried underground, and there's no telling how much water they're using to keep their grass and bushes alive. Where there's water, there are still a few flowers. The only thing that's blooming unassisted is the crepe myrtle trees. I'd swear they like this weather. They're just covered in blooms: white, lavender, fuschia. Amazing.

( Cut for several large images )