Getting to Know Your Accountant: Pictures of My Drought-Scorched Yard
Picture of my car thermometer showing a temperature of 106 degrees on July 22, 2012. That’s my serious-looking face showing in the reflection.
NOTES: I wrote this post in 2012, so be aware of its age. Also, it has nothing at all to do with taxes, but I’m leaving it up as a human-interest diversion. Summer of 2012 was very hot and very dry in Iowa.
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The thermometer in my car, which I think is accurate, reached 109 degrees while my wife and I were out driving around Sunday afternoon. By the time I could get to a stopping point to take the picture to the left, the temperature had dropped to “only” 106.
I’m 33 years old and have lived in Iowa all my life, and I don’t recall it ever being this hot here, at least not for this long. Maybe in 1988 during the last big drought.
I always tell my Texas relatives that it hardly gets above 90 degrees here in the summer. So much for that.
Shown below are some pictures from my yard that show the effects of the unusual heat and humidity in Iowa this summer.
It may not show clearly in this picture, but this 5-year-old lilac tree, that I planted myself, is wilting and appears to be dying.
This part of the yard is in direct sunlight most of the day. The grass is completely scorched. I don’t know if it will come back or not.
I water this tomato plant once or twice a day, every day. Still, it’s almost dead.Even hostas, which I thought were indestructible, are showing signs of stress. The leaves are supposed to be bright green, not sickly yellow.These flowers are supposed to be green and vibrant. Instead, they’re droopy and wilting.Weeds, which usually survive anything, are dying. I haven’t sprayed these weeds in a side yard with anything, but they’re still withering up and dying.Another view of the poor lilac. The grass is dead all around it.Operation Save the Lilac. I spray it down with water on the leaves to cool it off, and then I put the hose next to the roots and water it for a few minutes.A typical view in Iowa this summer. Cloudless sky, bright sun.
