Hot, Dry August

Our monsoon is in the midst of a two week vacation, and it keeps getting hotter in the meantime. It's 113 right now, and although we've had a few passing clouds and thunderheads in the distance, it's done nothing to beat back the heat.

Despite this, and thanks to the sun being at a lower angle now, my plants on the north side of the house are back in the shade and perking up (with the exception of two roses that died, one choked out by a creeping trumpet vine that came up from seed, and another for unknown reasons).

Below are recent pictures of two roses on that side of the house that have come back from the brink of death, blooms from the creeping trumpet vine, and my first gourd sighting.