End of the East Coast Heat Wave

This morning it finally rained. 

And boy, did we need it! 

There's been a major East Coast heat wave this past week, and a lack of rain and high humidy really made it hard for us all.  Meteorologists began calling the hot stretch a heat wave, a phenomenon defined in the Northeast as three consecutive days of temperatures of 90 or above. Oppressive conditions forced two East Coast tracks to call off horse racing cards, made life difficult for golfers practicing for the women's U.S. Open in Pennsylvania and sent ballplayers searching for any way to stay cool.  The East Coast broiled last Tuesday as record-setting temperatures soared past 100 from Virginia to Massachusetts, utility companies cranked up power to the limit to cool the sweating masses and railroad tracks were so hot commuter trains had to slow down. The temperature broke records for the day in New York, where it hit 103, and in Philadelphia, where it reached 102.

The National Weather Service says this was one of the hottest stretches in about a decade for many locations in the Northeast. "You'd go back to 2001 or maybe 1999 to find a similar heat wave."

Here at our farm, the heat wave and absolute lack of rain was causing many concerns.  Our well water got cloudy and sandy, which made us think possibly it was running dry.  Our well is very old, over a hundred years old.  No one really knows how old it is.  The water has been tested and is very good and clean, no iron or sulphur.  But we're concerned the water supply may not last through heat waves such as this; we were told it would not last as long as it has.  So, we stopped doing laundry and running the dishwasher in the house, started using disposable paper plates, and showers became really fast.  Luckily, the well didn't run dry, and the water became clear after a couple days of not using much water.  

With the self-imposed water restrictions, we decided we couldn't afford to water the garden. 
And so the garden died.
I stopped going out to look at it because it was too depressing. After all the time we spent preparing, planting and weeding, we had to let it die.  

During the heatwave I picked one yellow squash. 
I only got 2 squash this year, both yellow, quite a few green beans and cucumbers, and a couple small tomatoes before the heatwave. 

Maybe the garden will make a comeback. 

The chickens didn't like the heatwave in the least bit.  Eggs were down from between 9 to 11 eggs a day down to 3 or 4 a day. 

According to The Weather Channel, more rain and cooler temperatures are predicted for this upcoming week.

Thank goodness!