Twenty-three is the number of consecutive days that the official temperature reading at the DFW International Airport has been 100 degrees or more. The only reason I know the number of days is because the summer heat is the lead story on almost every local newscast.
This photo of my front yard prairie was taken about 43 days ago. I think that was around the last time it rained here, give or take a week. The prairie was so colorful and full of life back then. It was really pretty.
Today, the prairie is much less colorful than it was a few weeks ago and not quite as pretty. The hot summer months are my least favorite months for prairie plants because this is when they do what comes naturally and go dormant to semi-dormant until cooler weather and rain returns. I do irrigate my prairie on occasion to keep the plants on the green side of dormancy. But this is Texas and we are in a drought. Plants are supposed to be dormant under these conditions. Anyone with a lush, green lawn and garden right now is probably using too much of our precious drinking water for irrigation.
The high temperature forecast looks like a UPC code for a big box of hot. The heatwave continues...