I don't remember the last time my part of Joplin (Newton Co) had a good, soaking rain. I think it was the storm right after the tornado. Some "Five Inch Rains" (five inches between drops) have occurred, but I still have to water everything every day. Not grass, though.

Yes, I think about those people in tents and the birds and other wildlife out in it as well. I try to keep water all over for them. Hopefully we won't go back to this terrible heat after tomorrow.
Sunny

No rain here in this part of Joplin (Newton Co also) like Sunny. Dismaying to see it cloud up with thunder and lightning all around us and know that it missed us again and they got rain a few miles away. Sigh. Maybe this week. With all the extremes we've had this year, I almost expect it to start raining and then not stop for a month or two until we're all good and sick of that too. But I still think I would rather have the rain than the extreme heat.

When I turn on the pulsating water head in the woods garden, there are literally dozens of birds of all kinds out there taking advantage of it, and box turtles everywhere I step, seems like. I keep the small woods pond topped off daily, I think the deer and other small animals drink it down at night.

Sandy

Watching the rain going north of me, only two days of rain last week. The wind is picking up, maybe some hope.

Hardware cloth and straw has kept the tomatoes up, but to hot to produce.

Cheri

No rain here. I sometimes doubt the weathermen but I guess some people really are getting rain. I was at my friend's house and saw yellow spots on the radar where I live; when I got home it hadn't rained a drop. I think we sometimes get the kind that doesn't reach the ground.

The rain that hit Springfield this week somehow missed us but we did finally get some rain this morning, about a half inch. I had my alarm set early so I could go out and water before it got hot, but turned it off when I heard the rain.
Without question, Joplin has been both hotter and drier than we have. It's been miserable here so I'm sure you must be really getting weary. I feel sorry for the construction workers there.

Just a kiss of rain here night before last. I ordered several plants from a catalog, for the first time this year. I was trying to fill in some areas. Now,all my plants have heat-stroke. Some have died or are just hanging on, even though I spot-water every other day. Your rain-dances must be more powerful than mine! We are supposed to get a few days of relief Tues. Then back to triple digits. Because I must go out of town for 7 days, tomorrow, I brought inside, two of the plants I ordered and want to keep, but I think I damaged most of the roots on my most prized one, so probably lost it. Money down the drain.. or in this case the sand pit. I have a butterfly bush that is keeping 8-10 large black with lt. blue winged beauties, fed. I do keep it watered, as well as my bird baths. I pray for the people as well as the dogs that are unable to go into their owners homes. We live in the DOGS house, as they take up all the floor space.

Early in the summer I put some pots in a black stock tank. I keep a couple of inches of water in it all the time. These were plants I bought at master gardeners sales plants that I don't have room for anyway. They look better than any plants in the ground. Usually sitting in water is not a good way to keep plants but they go from watered to wilted before you know it. I was watering tomatoes but had to stop because a knockout rose died. I am now just trying to keep things alive until we get a tropical storm to knock this weather pattern out of here. Everything looks bad. Now when you go for a drive you see big trees that look wilted and scorched. I noticed some maples in town that were brown.

Still waiting for rain. It looked good for it last night, wind blew and lightning, but didn't deliver, and now the sun has partially come out. So far it's all gone north of us. It swoops down, and then jerks back up like Lucy with the football just as Charlie Brown is ready to kick it.

Looking and feeling better out there now -- maybe we will get some good, penetrating rain this week. Loved your "kiss of rain," nashonii -- we've had a LOT of kisses here.
I had ordered some lightweight insect barrier from Gardens Alive for possible zucchini this year. Didn't happen but used it over my two raised beds of tomatoes and three containers. A couple of photos -- anchored the fabric with clothespins and haven't taken it off the two beds yet, but another photo shows the containers without the cloth and they don't look too bad. These plants are in the hottest, sunniest part of the veg garden with all-day full sun. Still waiting for that first tomato! Maybe with cooler weather.
Sunny

I am about 5 miles northwest of Willard, Mo. and I am happy to report we had another 1/2 inch in the wee morning hours and then it pretty much rained off and on all day. We ended up with 1.25 inches total. It never got above 75� all day!

I feel so bad for you Joplin area folks. It is always the hottest place in Missouri. Is that something new for you all?
I have never noticed it before but maybe it is just because of the attention the tornado damage that I am paying more attention to your area.

We finally gave the beast a bath and he comes in on the hottest days. I make him stay on the back porch though. Used to he wouldn't come in, but on the hot days all we have to do is open the door.

Sunny, I have been thinking about dragging my old greenhouse shade cloth out and draping over the tomato patch too. It is a lot heavier than what you have. I might have to drive some t-posts and raise it up off the plants.

I got an inch and a quarter over night. It was nice to let the water in the sink go down the drain instead of saving it and hauling it out the door. I did save my bath water out of habit; dirty boy will get a bath today. He is cute and clean after a bath for about 30 minutes. Annie has been staying in all the time since she suddenly went blind recently. I keep chicken to help her go out to use the bathroom. She has always been a submissive dog. If you try to bully her she throws herself on the floor belly up. Chicken makes everyone happy. My animals are spoiled.

I've gotten a total of 3 small tomatoes this year. Hopefully things will pick up if it stays this nice for the most part.

I put my tomatoes out early and have been eating tomatoes since mid July but they are the rattiest things you have ever seen. I give some to my friend, his elderly neighbors and sometimes others. I am ashamed of them because of the stink bug damage, sun scorch and worm holes. I tried a Dead Inn stink bug trap which does not work at all and I hand picked bugs for hours and squashed stinkbugs until my thumbnail was black and wouldn't come clean with bleach. Those methods do not work. I have stink bug distortion whether or not it is hot or there is a drought. I was then attacked by swarms of striped blister beetles. I sprayed them twice and I think the spray does work but I ran out of that spray and everything else I have is too toxic to suit me. I used Pyola from Gardens Alive and I don't see anything similar on the shelves locally. Those striped bb are easy to trap with potatoes and kitchen veggie garbage but there seems to be thousands. I may put my peelings and rotten tomatoes in a pile and use Sevin on them away from the produce I plan to eat. I really don't know that Sevin is any more dangerous than the organic poisons because I know those so called harmless bacterial sprays make me sick as a dog.

Glad to hear you finally got some rain Helen. I have to lure my dogs outside with treats too. I keep a bag of dog treats/scraps in the freezer for them.

I don't plant a lot of tomatoes because my dad always has so many to give away. He told me this year, Cherokee Purple has done best for him in this awful heat. I have a couple Cherokee Purple plants in my garden as well and have picked a grand total of two tomatoes from them.

It didn't take my yard very long to go from brown and crispy to needing to be mowed. Still lots of brown areas but I do need to get the mower out. I may need to reseed some areas.

Is anyone still waiting for rain?

We got an inch and a quarter Monday night but that wasn't nearly enough. We moved a couple of hostas yesterday and the soil was still really dry, even on top. At least it's cooler, and we are supposed to have a 90% chance of rain today. Still waiting for that. But grateful for the break in the heat.

Glad you got some rain Mosswitch.
I'm afraid my hostas may be suffering more than they appear. I wonder what they'll look like when/if they come back next spring. I know they can get "dry rot" which I think I've had problems with before when I didn't water them deeply enough. I think the lower roots die where it's too dry and then the crown rots.

Not sure what is going to happen with the hostas either. I think some of them have gone dormant, and possibly I have lost a few of the new ones that didn't get established before the heat hit. I guess we won't know until next spring.

I'm already looking at hosta lists for next spring! I think I am hopeless!

It is hard for me to be interested in plants since trying to keep things watered and pretty much losing the battle is still fresh in my mind. I forgot to dump my rain gauge but my total may be close to two inches this week. Everything looks damp but I also dug a hole and found dry dirt about six inches deep. I am optimistic that the rain will continue since we seem to have a changed weather pattern.

We moved some big hostas today. It isn't damp below an inch, still dry under there six inches down. The rain that we got and the cool weather was a lifesaver, but we sure still need more rain! Sounds like we may get it tomorrow, too!

I did take advantage of today's nice cool temps to try and salvage some of what is left of my garden. And I am sure ready for a shower and early bed tonight!

We got another .33 of rain early this morning. Our top soil was still nice and moist but I don't know how far down it went.

I am thrilled with each drop. Thankfully, no storms with it either.

I need to trim and do some spot mowing badly.

One and on-half inches in the rain gauge this AM. Oh happy day! The plants I checked are green and sassy so I think our terrible dry spell may be at an end. There may even be more rain today!

Tree trimmers for Empire were here last week and took quite a few limbs off the middle part of a post oak which shaded my hosta bed on the southeast corner. I'll have to move about four giants to another place soon or see them get sun roasted. The Black & Blue salvias there will love the sun, though.
Sunny