Extreme Heat: DFW Edition (A.K.A. Fall Can't Arrive Soon Enough)

I've never exactly been the green thumb type, but I still never expected my lawn to be a lovely shade of wheat.

Yes, it's drought season here in Texas, and despite my best efforts in programming our automatic sprinklers for just the right amount of H2O at just the right time, the Banister lawn is easily the ugliest one on the block.

Even worse is the large stripe of brown in the otherwise green rectangle of grass near the mailbox. I don't know if the water simply doesn't reach or if our lawn was secretly hoping for chunky highlights, but it's pretty atrocious.

See, before I moved to DFW last summer, everyone had warned me about the Texas heat and how it was different from other kinds of heat. And considering I'd visited several times since Will and I've been married, I (almost) knew what I was getting into...well, except that I never dealt with it every day. But I assumed that 8 1/2 years of dreadfully hot and humid summers in Nashville was a decent prerequisite, right?

I guess not.

See, grinning and bearing it for a few days in Texas (thank you, Frederic Fekkai glossing cream) isn't so bad. But facing the heat on a daily basis, especially when you've got pasty white porcelain skin like me, is the proverbial horse of a different color. To wit, I have a horrendous tan line on my wrist (thank you, cute Fossil watch) just from checking the mail, and I won't even elaborate on what Will calls my "redneck socks."

Needless to say, I couldn't be more thankful that I work inside on days like these. At home. Not only do I have the air conditioning blasting and constant access to bottles of nice cold water and green tea, but I can wear fearlessly wear shorts (ok, they're more like capri pants) without anyone getting frightened by the ghost whiteness of my gams and my strangely tan ankles.

If anything, these summers have given me an entirely new appreciation for everyone who works outside in this blazing, triple-digit heat. I'm sure I'd pass out in like five minutes flat and have third-degree burns to boot. But they handle it like pros, every day no less, so hat's off to them!

Meanwhile, fall can't arrive soon enough for me. I can't wait for a blast of nice temperate air. But as a backup in the meantime, I'd gladly accept a few days of rain as a consolation prize. Hear that DFW weather guys and gals? R-A-I-N. Pronto.

Comments

[Lori]

Come on over here for Summer and then Texas will be delightful in Winter. :)

[Christa]

Yep, you're absolutely right. I'm a girl who apparently likes to live in extreme weather. :)

[Elizaveta Kramer]

During droughts like this, the people in our area are badly waiting for the rain to come. This is because they absolutely wanted to bring their ravaged lawn back to life. And also, during times like this, what you need to do is to just wait for the right time. There is nothing you can do to help your lawn to recover during hot, dry conditions because the lawn grass will not respond well to any methods. The perfect time for your lawn to recover is during the fall because this is where the growing conditions of the grass are most favorable.