We had a smidgen of rain last night but not enough to really matter. I watered everything very early this morning but brought down all of the begonias and ranunculus pots to dead head. I am glad I did because I found them still drier than they should have been. I watered them all really well before putting them back up and transferred the ranunculus to a pot in the lower gardens. I hope there is enough life left for them to recover. I will find something else to take their places on the fence. I will schedule a couple of days a week to take all of the topside plants down for a good soaking. We were in the high 80s yesterday and should be also today. Tomorrow and Monday are supposed to have highs in the 90s. And the first named storm (Alberto) is in the gulf headed for Louisiana. Oh, joy!!😒

Charles Hugh Smith has a good summation of the U.S. mid 2018--and it isn't pretty. Basically. almost everything we depend on for our wellbeing withering away. I could add some observation but they only reinforce his conclusions. If you think his notions are overblown consider this: Mom went to the new Meijer store pharmacy to price her usual prescription which will be renewed in about a week. She informed the pharmacist that she would be paying cash. He printed a coupon for her and remarked that he is seeing a lot of people doing that. She had insurance before the company moved her drug to a different tier and tripled her out of pocket costs. We figure she can save enough on the premiums the insurance company won't be getting to pay for her meds, her part of the lab fees for the blood work, her doctor's visits and her eye doctor's visits as well. And have money left over. And that is just the medical industry.