More dry weather

After a wonderfully wet spring, the spigot has turned off. We haven't had anything more than a sprinkling of rain since early June. I'm trying to deeply water the vegetable garden at least once a week (and avoid the temptation to water a little bit every day), but it's hard to keep up, with high afternoon temperatures and sunny days.

The goldfinches, brown thrashers, squirrels, and others are depending on the bird bath for water, while the mystery woodchuck is becoming more interested in well-watered squash leaves. It's hard to be too annoyed; there's certainly no succulent fresh growth out there, aside from what's being watered.

The U.S. drought monitor is still showing that we're OK (that's good) and the long-term projections are fine, so this is just a normal LONG droughty spell. But definitely even native drought-tolerant plants that have been recently added (perennials in the last year, and shrubs and trees in the last couple of years) and all of the water-dependent vegetables and container plants need water.