Summer doledrums

No garden truly blooms until butterflies have danced upon it
~K. D’Angelo



I have spent the last 4 days, watering with saved rain water, pulling weeds, clipping pernicious Yaupon  sprouts, marveling at the peaches hanging from the branches of well past their prime Ranger peach trees.  We thought the frost got them all.  I even had one on my cereal this morning!

After months of monsoon type rain this spring that flooded gardens and drowned many plants. Plants I never thought would be bothered.  Tough old standbys that were alive and green every spring and hung on in the heat of summer.  
“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”
― Roger Miller
We were gone for 10 days in May visiting family and returned to drowned and dying plants everywhere.  My wheelbarrow had 12" in it.  I wish I could have saved more than I did of the precious rain.  The grass and weeds were 12" tall or better.

The mole damage to my paths is still waiting for an idea and energy to repair.  They undermined from one bed to another and there are sink holes all over.

Needless to say it has been an overwhelming summer.  I have not felt up to snuff for months and feel it most when trying to do garden things.  We were gone the first week of July visiting grand children and returned to more dead and dying plants.

My bed of Salvia Greggi that fed bees, butterflies and hummingbirds had lost all their leaves.  Some are greening up, but most are done.

Some flowers came back with careful watering and deadheading or cutting stems that have shot up too high when fed with much water and pitiful leaves and flowers not capable feeding the most persistent bee. There are no beautiful white and blue salvias.  I have pinched and cut them down to 3 or 4inches.  I will water some in hopes they will come up for fall.

In the midst of pity party, I watched a humming bird rest on a bit of fence and then feed on the surviving butterfly bush.  I thought it was dying at one point, but it has come back.

I have watched tiny yellow sulphur butterflies, called Dainty Sulphur, flitting around what blossoms are still available.

About 1½ inches

Unfortunately, they flit and sip too fast to get a good picture.  (I "borrowed" this one.)  I am amazed at how many there are in my blossomless garden.
Another reason to just enjoy nature for what it is.  Grieving over dead and dying plants is not what gardeners do.  We slowly let them go and plan for next time.

These are pictures of my most photogenic zinnias. To some, they are dead, to me they are guaranteed keepers on my Bloggie camera.  It loves them. 

 I have them growing in a large black pot from the
nursery.  My only successful seed growing this
year.
The stems are tall and then, tiny blossoms.
About the size of a walnut.

The pinks turn this lovely pinkish brown.

When I started this post, it was dry and no chance for rain.  Well, now, we are in for 10 days of temperatures of 100.
Time to let the gardens die. Stop fighting the heat, dry soil, critters.  Time to rest up, make plans and tackle the garden in the fall.
There are changes rattling around in my head of creating a smaller,more manageable garden area(s).
Should put the ideas on paper as they flit into my thoughts and flit right out again.

I think hubby has to be involved in this project.

Roadside wildflower puzzle solved

This had not bloomed before we left for trip

We were driving home from visiting family in Illinois when I noticed an orange flash of color on the roadside.  A lot of orange in spots.  I am not acquainted with very many orange wildflowers and checked my wildflower book with no answer.

Today, hiding out from humidity and heat of my garden, I searched the Web for the lovely, delicate orange blossoms that smelled like lilacs.  There it was! The question was worded as mine was.
 
http://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/new-to-me-wildflower.13802/

The second question was about roadside flower colored orange.


https://www.google.com/search?q=milkweed+photos&rlz=1T4ACAW_en___US378&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gUHSUfeiF4LW9QTh4YDQCA&ved=0CC8QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=612#imgrc=X4lDvT3W2Yf5ZM%3A

Each state has many, many web sites of their wildflowers.

I hope this will encourage you to search the Web to look for your mystery flower.  Sometimes, it takes many tries of different ways to word the search line.

More to the story

I have read enough to understand the importance of the "right" milkweed for your area.  This is a very good site for information to encourage you to find out the native milkweed in your area.  I love the common milkweed and before I order seeds or plants, I will check our local wildflower society to be sure it is native.
 http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/can-milkweed-be-bad-for-monarchs/#comments

I said early in my blogging that gardeners need to be good stewards of wild life and flowers they raise.
It is difficult to avoid that pretty plant at the garden store, but just because it is for sale doesn't mean it is good for our wild life.

Pictures left over after earlier post of South Dakota

This time of year, I cringe when I see my spouse during the daylight hours. Unknown

Ominous clouds on the day arranged for branding that proved there was still rain in the offing.

A lot of "yard" to look after year round. Just one view from driveway.



Don't forget to click on picture for larger.

One of my favorite shots

 

 

 Amazing metal back in the day.  No telling how long these have sat unused.  I didn't see any serious rust decay.

As antiquated as they seem in modern times, they must have been a blessing to farmers.  When you think of early farmers following a horse or other animal pulling a large plow blade. They must have marveled at the convenience of it all!

Farmall

 

Fordson

Hubby thoroughly enjoyed  pondering these beauties from time gone by.

May, time for branding calves in SD

 

This will be a bit different story.  Hubby and I went to my niece's ranch for a third chance to experience a tiny bit of ranch life.  Hubby had never been and wary of being "invited" to ride a horse with the cow people.

I will write with my limited knowledge of the

round up process and branding.  

The pens were empty, there was no calling of mamas  or bawling calves.  All seemed to be in limbo.

My niece's husband paced, drank coffee and paced
some more.  He was on the phone all morning
with the ranchers who had planned to be there.

This was Sunday and it had been cold and rainy for days. All indications were it would rain again this day.
It tried to clear and clouded over and cleared again.  The weather report was not good.

So I took pictures. There is always something to see at this place.  I never tire of the views and life
around me.                                                          

Hubby found a new friend.  It was misty and cold, but boy (niece's grandson) and his dog were content to show this "new granpa" the sights

He even showed "grandpa" he could pump water!

Sittin' on the porch with both grandpas just waitin'.





don't forget to click on picture for larger



After a muddy morning working on fences, time for coffee and cinnamon rolls, huge ones!

Boots come off before going inside.  I always wonder if they do the same at home?

 Most of the time I can tell boys from girls,
til I see them walking out to the horses.

Didn't see who shucked these, but I can guess.

This is a real working boot puller, not just for show.

This is a big room. Lots of sitting places, beautiful wall of windows and large dining table.  I kind of think a lot of after the drive, good or not accomplished, is spent at this table with friends and family.

Tell tale kettle corn pan.  Sure was good.

Riders  enjoying each other.  Good coffee, kettle corn and friends.

Maybe just a little serious discussion?

Two ranch wives, niece and friend , maybe discussing kettle corn?

Cowboys and gals may be chatting but meal prep still goes on.  At this point, things were pretty certain not going to do round up or branding. 

As it turned out, there would be no feeding of the 25 or so riders.  That leaves niece with food for 30 and so, the people still talking and visiting get to have a feed anyway.  Too many left overs to try to cram into fridge. 
The next drive attempt would be a week later.

Waiting

 

 

 May rains have finally let up.  The whole month of rain was wet everywhere!  We drove north to South Dakota in rain the whole time. Texas is not in the red zone for drought for the first time in years.  We have taken this route for years and never have seen every stream, creek and river full.
We were traveling for 10 days and it rained at our house nearly every day we were gone.  I expected much more damage than my gardens show.
                                                                                   Don't forget to click a picture for larger

This is the straightest path from top to bottom of hill.  Didn't expect so much runoff

Neighbors reported heavy rain two different times.  Being on a hill, the wall of water must have been significant

This is the most damage of any size.  Moles were busy undermining this area all spring.

This wheelbarrow was empty 10 days ago.  We got over 12" while we were gone.

 This sad looking spot is really a good surprise.
I expected the smaller coneflowers to wash out.
They look good and even the newly planted herb at the back and in the pot look okay.

Lots of weeding ahead.

Mosquitoes are very, very bad. Standing water is not a good thing.

More mole damage wash out

Another bed, light brown is wash out.  No plants hurt because I dug out this area "just in case"

Same bed, lower end. Will dig sand in and some compost.

The sick grey looking plant is water logged California poppy. 

New coneflower bed. I moved these from the first bed.  High enough to not get water logged.

Transplanted salvias are looking fine.

 I plan to foliar feed all plants soon.

This healthy cone flower plant came up this spring. The bed is full of Mexican Petunias and very crowded.  It must have benefited from all those roots keeping water from standing too long. The stems are 3 feet or better.

 This area washed out because of heavy downfall pouring over the rain gutter. I have to do something else
as it seems we are getting rain again.  Maybe concrete squares over dirt to cover roots.

“The rain to the wind said,
You push and I'll pelt.'
They so smote the garden bed
That the flowers actually knelt,
And lay lodged--though not dead.
I know how the flowers felt.”
― Robert Frost

For those who have washed out plantings, I highly recommend this plant.  It has tough root system and transplants (and survives) in nearly any weather.  I have dug and moved even in heat of summer with a bit of shade of course.

Oriental Limelight Artimesia vulgaris.

All new plantings are doing fine after downpours.