I'm sorry, and I understand since I lived in that area for 13 years. Last year up here, it was still in the low 90s every day, but it's at least gotten down to the mid-80s now, and it's much cooler for longer in the mornings, which makes gardening much more productive for me. I hate summer. Now, if we could just get some decent rain, I'd be happy. No more hurricanes, though! Please!

Still very hot and with the rains everything is putting out new growth

Things are growing here too and blooming, but then, it is our growing season. :)

I don't know where you are but the healthy oaks here don't loose there leaves until late Feb or March. I am mainly talking about live oaks. They loose their leaves, bloom, and new leaves come on very quickly and its a big mess. Some years are better then others for the mess of acorns, and this looks like a couple trees will have bumper crop when they start dropping in Mid Oct to Nov.

sousd24 I'm in Gainesville and we have deciduous oaks, like Chinquapin, up here. Live oaks lose their leaves in the spring. Actually, live oak leaves are pushed off by the new leaves coming out in the spring, they don't really drop leaves like deciduous trees do.

In my zone the weather doesn't change noticeably until that one day in October when you go outside and notice a genuine difference in the air—it might still rise into the 80s, but the humidity is appreciably lower which makes such a difference.

As for oak leaves, since I rent and landlord doesn't care about the lawn (lawn=euphemism for mostly weeds) as long as it's kept mowed, I give it one good hand-blistering raking in the spring.

Pattybee, I use the leaves as mulch and organic matter to amend the soil, so I rake once a week right before the yard crew comes in. This year, I'm bagging them because I tried piling them up last year and they kept blowing them all around with the blowers. My earthworms love them.