Despite the best watering efforts of my sister while we were away last week, we came home to a garden completely ill equipped to deal with a week of temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.  These extreme temperatures withered our plants and brought out a volume of insects that I have never before experienced.

These conditions are reminders of just how fragile life is, that without rainfall, nothing can survive.  I try to push these ideas from my mind as I quietly tend to my plants, watering them from the city water that we are blessed to have at our disposal during the worst drought this area has faced since 1988.  But as the days pass, clouds loom overhead, but not a drop of rain falls, and these thoughts become more and more difficult to cast aside.

I pray for an end to this dryness, and for the heavens to open up and give the earth some much needed nourishment.

If you have a suggestion for Japanese beetle removal, I would greatly appreciate it!  Feel free to leave a comment on this post for all to see.  I have the traps set up along the far perimeter of our property, but the sheer number of these insects is staggering.