Making the great escape tonight! Off to Erie to catch Walleye! Yay!!

I really don’t have to worry about my precious cat, Shady. My house sitter loves Shady and will take great care of him. She even spends extra time here with him. I am worried about my plants.

We go away and know our pets will be attended to. But if we come back and one or more of our plants are dead we will get “You know I have a black thumb! You should have gotten someone else to water!”

It is not their fault. They are not plant geek-nerds like we are. It is a huge responsibility to take on another’s garden. It is fairly easy to add some cat food to a bowl or change the pet’s water. Taking on a garden however, can be a daunting task. It still is in our hands, although we are on vacation.

I am worried about the annuals I just planted 2 weeks ago. I am worried about the orchids hanging in the pine trees. The catus I just potted will be hidden so it isn’t over watered. The pot way out at the mailbox is quite far from the hose. This heat has been so hard on my “babies! Yikes.

My neighbors have to tag team this garden. Two of them will come over to water (and check on Shady!) I will not ask them to use the rain barrel water. I will make this all as easy as possible for them. And if I come back to find any dead plants, I will be gracious and filled with gratitude for what they watered. It is not their fault. They tried. (I will still be asking Mother Nature for rain while I am gone!!)

It may provide an opportunity for me to choose a new plant(s) from HG. We have fresh annuals still coming in, some pretty neato ones have been catching my eye. Shift and adjust. I will not be mad at my neighbors. They tried.

I will bring back great souvenirs for them for their efforts. I will be happy to see my Shady again and my garden!