June showers

I don't know for sure that the superchilled winter is responsible for making the lake effect more pronounced this year than usual, but it certainly seems plausible. On top of that, the Jet Stream has been spending most of its time south of us. Normally, Chicago seems to average only 5-10°F (3-6°C) cooler than St Louis, but recently the gap has been as much as twice that. Fog is something I tend to associated with fall, but we've been plagued with it lately. Moist air from the south floats up, collides with the chilly lake breeze, and next thing you know the shoreline has disappeared.

The plants are loving all the moisture, of course. I'm still not sure if the autumn-blooming clematis has pulled through. It seems to have been parched during our absence and several thorough soakings have not restored it to the bloom of health. At the same time, it hasn't completely withered away either. It just lingers in this in-between state, making us puzzle whether we should hack it out and replace it or give it a little more time to recover.

The other clemates, by contrast, are either in full bloom or on the verge. The one in the corner (which I think of as "ours" now due to all the care we gave it last year) is about to explode. Across from it, the oriental lily has spawned three new plants, and they're all stacked with flower buds. And the daylilies are budding in the front yard. Pretty soon, this place is going to be lousy with blossoms.

Most surprisingly, the kerria is putting out blooms. The Old Man deserves credit for spotting them; I hadn't even been checking since that's a month out of season for them. "I guess it means it's happy here," I ventured. And at least one of our perpetually confused azaleas is in bud. I guess blooming thrice in the past year left them too exhausted to go again in the spring and it's making up for lost time?