gray, spelled g r a y

So uhhhh when we buying our seeds for winter sowing, y’all? *twitch*

Got a complaint from the city today (very kindly written, by email rather than certified letter) about our grass being tall, which, sure, and we’re working on it. No problem, & this is the farthest we’ve ever gone through the season before the man up the street complains about *something*…

But then the next time he thinks he can get his way by lying, he does it again, just as comfortably. It’s bizarre. People lie, but they often don’t easily admit it even when caught. And when they do admit it, they don’t usually try it again with the same person. But he just keeps doing it.

Got a complaint from the city today (very kindly written, by email rather than certified letter) about our grass being tall, which, sure, and we’re working on it. No problem, & this is the farthest we’ve ever gone through the season before the man up the street complains about *something*…

1. The pond has had no water in it at all for many weeks 2. It has never had water sit in it for longer than 36 hours at a stretch 3. It has never been more than half full. He said, “The initial complaint was for stagnant water and run-off. After I probed further, the complainant retracted.”

Got a complaint from the city today (very kindly written, by email rather than certified letter) about our grass being tall, which, sure, and we’re working on it. No problem, & this is the farthest we’ve ever gone through the season before the man up the street complains about *something*…

I came to look at the common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) because it’s near blooming, & then stayed to look at some leafhoppers (versute sharpshooters) that had gathered on it, but in the end it was the way the hairs on its stems looked in the evening light that I took a picture of. #2026photos

In today’s picture we have the tiniest snail ever to have existed, crawling along under a common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) leaf. These guys aren’t native - I don’t know if we have native snails, but if we do, these aren’t them - but they mostly eat our hostas… (1/3) #2026photos

…which is fine with us, or decaying things in our brush piles, which someone might as well eat. (I choose to believe this one was only sheltering from the rain.) And if you are a (native!) opossum, they make a delightful snack - proof of which I will provide, as soon as I can find it. (2/3)

Today’s picture is a cautionary tale, but one that turns out ok in the end. This plant came from a plant sale last year, with a printed label identifying it as native green milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora). That one’s hard to find, so I was excited to get it! (1/3ish) #2026photos #nativeplants

Only after planting did I realize some scribbles on the label were meant to change the ID to tall green milkweed (A. hirtella) - not native to our area. I was disappointed, but decided to keep it, since it didn’t seem likely to change migration timing the way some nonnative milkweeds can. (2/3ish)

Today’s picture, because a friend asked to see what it looks like, and because earlier I was digging through vermiculite to find some fridge-stratified seeds of this species, shows the rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) in bloom! Another little garden alien. (1/2) #2026photos #nativeplants

Rain!

Still raining, somehow. The temperature has dropped from 97 to 66 in the last half hour.

I’m late enough with this that yesterday’s photo is really the day before yesterday’s now, but anyway, it shows the nodding onion (Allium cernuum) beginning to bloom! This patch was completely (& unnecessarily) crushed when the roof was replaced. (1/2) #2026photos #nativeplants

Today’s photo shows some of our pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) blooming, & its berries starting to form. I could write a lot about why I like pokeweed so much (if I weren’t so tired), & why I think it’s often an unfair kneejerk reaction when people dislike it. (1/2) #2026photos #nativeplants