Canary in the Coal Mine

For at least a week, the jardin was left to fend for itself.  And from the looks of it, there was precious little rain in New York City during that time.

The first of the plants to show signs of stress this year has been the Vietnamese balm (kinh gioi), which is a shame, since it adds such a lovely lemony touch to dishes - though it's seen little play time this year with all the shiso (tia to).  But looking past it, the hydrangea was wilty, the Sunpatiens not so sunny, the blackberry was droopy, and the morning glory quite other than glorious... the proverbial canaries

(As contrasted to the literal avian variety. Photo from the New York Times; article link below.)

in the jardin, warning of lack of water, and possible impending doom....

Unlike the Vietnamese balm above that bounced back with a bit of water, the hydrangea, today, still hasn't found its pep.  Hopeful the stress wasn't too much.  It's a survivor, I think.  Meanwhile, the cuttings from the farmer's market rescue hydrangea stems seem to have established; the leaves are growing - unevenly, but growing, so maybe there will be viable backups.

The Sunpatiens (above) also took a deep drink.  But unfair to compare to the blackberry that barely got any water yesterday. 

Less than glorious morning glory.  Also barely got watered - it is a weed, after all - but was shown more mercy today.

... Like the millions of young people who joined Greta Thunberg in her global climate strike yesterday, reminding us that we need to pull our imperiled planet back from the brink.  Also warning us adults (how did that happen so quickly, the forced adulting thing? - the event came up in my feed, so up my alley, but, well, work, recent return from vacation, upcoming extended absence, responsibility) that they will oust us all and perhaps enact dramatic change if our halting and faltering gradual steps don't accelerate soon....

... Like the billions of lost birds - the literal canaries - warning us that we have let it go too far already, and mass mammalian extinction is not impossible.

Grim.  So those canaries, we need to heed and protect those little canaries.