Hotter Than Hell...

...then all hell breaks loose.  Heat index of over a hundred today, with crazy humidity and zero breeze.

Then, all of a sudden, at about half past six, the sky became black, the wind came up, rain came in torrents, and there was tons of lightening, with some strikes so close that they shook the building.  Thankfully it cooled things down significantly:  temperature in downtown DC went from 92 to 68 in fifteen minutes!

Photos from the balcony, which don't really do the storm justice:

Okra In Bloom

Over the past couple of weeks, the okra plant in the balcony garden has been in bloom.  On a few select mornings the plant has gone into bloom, which is simply beautiful.  From all we can tell, it goes into bloom only in the morning, done by about ten o'clock, so it's short-lived.  Here's a photo of one of the blooms from last weekend:

First Harvest of the Season

The balcony garden this year features three tomato plants, okra, jalapeno, soy beans, and chard, along with an herb selection (mint, parsley, basil, and rosemary), and the lemon tree.  Not counting the plentiful herbs that we've gotten so far (they grow like weeds!), this morning we harvested the first item:  a small tomato.  

Last year, because of balcony construction at our building, there was no balcony garden.  In 2009, we had a half dozen tomato plants, along with some other stuff, but tomato blight ravaged the plants and only one plant produced anything.  This year two of the three tomato plants are full with green tomatoes, all progressing nicely.

I'm looking forward to having a small taste of tomato for lunch!