We've been blistering under 100+ degrees for a couple of weeks now with more in the forecast. I don't know how people manage to take this day to day out in the fields, watching everything just dry up. My friend Mary Knapp, state climatologist at K-State told me about the problem with this heat and wind.
It is about trans-location, she said, the process by which plants move water from their roots to their leaves and stalks. In this heat and wind, she said, trans-evaporation is so great that plant roots cant keep up and even if there is plenty of water available, a plant cannot pull it up fast enough to override the rate of evaporation from the leaves. So the plant dies because photosynthesis cannot occur.
It doesn't help me a lot to understand why all the vegetation in my garden is dying. I just feel sad that it is. And this heat can't go on a lot longer without really affecting morale.
I, for example, already feel sad and discouraged. And HOT!!!!
And Here We Are For Another Week
If it seems like I just posted this, I did. We arent going anywhere
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