SLIPPING BACK INTO BAD HABITS

Happy Independence Day ever-buddy! Did you know that hummingbirds fear the American flag? We'd had swarms of them fighting over both feeders, until John put out the flag. Then, poof! They all disappeared. Actually, it's probably the sound that scared them away. We get a lot of wind up here, and the flag's snapping and popping has managed to startle me a few times too -- even here inside the house!

Independence Day is not my favorite holiday. I might like it a whole lot more if I lived up north, but here, it's just way too hot to be doing much of anything outside -- especially standing over a barbecue pit! Also, as a kid, it always got me kinda depressed, because it meant summer was about halfway over. Now I see that as more of a positive thing. You would too, if your summer lasted a good five months. Did you get a gander at that thermometer up there? Here, let me zoom in closer.

That shot was taken at 7:00 am, when the sun was barely up, so that's our low temperature for the day!

I was really good about water conservation during our two year drought, but we had so many good rains from fall through spring, keeping our rain tank constantly full, that I'm afraid I let my guard down -- fell back into some old habits. Unfortunately, though there have been several thunder showers in the area over the past month, not one of them has landed on us, and our tank is now less than half full. Time to get a grip! Just the other morning I suddenly realized how much water I've been wasting with my tea brewing habits. For one thing, I make an entire potful each morning, 'though in the summer, a half pot would suffice. But, if I don't fill it all the way, the water doesn't reach the loose tea that sits in a little strainer at the neck. Rather than toss out the leftover hot tea, I've started turning it into a big ol' glass of iced tea for the afternoon. Also, after I've dumped the tea out, I usually fill the pot with clean water and let it sit for a while, to make it easier to get the tea stains out. I was just about to toss that out as well, when I suddenly thought "Holy Moly! What am I doing?" Now that and lots of other bits of leftover rinse-water are all going into a big ewer I keep out on the counter, which then gets used to water house plants, clean paint brushes, or fill the reservoirs on those porch-rail herb planters.

What about you? You got any tips for making the rainwater in that tank last just a wee bit longer?