Dead Sunflowers 6

 It is a windy and dusty day today and the chances of rain tomorrow are meager. The air is DRY. Had my usual Sunday morning drive and I saw some road rage in action: a pickup in hot pursuit of an older model passenger car with a young driver giving the finger to the driver of the PU. They vanished into the distance, finally, and I wonder what came of that. Maybe the violent encounter will be on the news. But I don't do news anymore so I won't find out. More idiots, in any case. Idiots galore. Idiots here, idiots there, idiots everywhere. Nothing new.

Dead Sunflowers 5

 Our rain chances have actually managed to creep up into something approaching "possibility", as long as you define that loosely. Unprecedented! Astounding! I can see Texas turning into the American Sahara, as well as large parts of the desert southwest, becoming uninhabitable for all practical purposes. But I won't be around to see that, and I'm glad of it. Here is some more of what fell out of one of my cameras recently:

Above, some of those migratory birds I mentioned previously. 

There is something about the photo above I really like. It was an accident, of course.

What ISN'T an accident??

Dead Sunflowers 4

 Very windy yesterday. The dust was in the air. Typical weather for the time of year. Rain chances improve over the next few days. I'll believe it when I see it. Meanwhile...

I've added more interesting things to the link list at the bottom of this blog. Check them out!

Dead Sunflowers 3

 These were all taken after last year's growing season, of course. I decided not to clear out the old stuff and see whether they'd still come back. If not, I'd like to plant vines that would climb the dead stalks like trellises. Thick vegetation is what I'm after. I don't think the trumpet vine made it. Too darned cold. And probably too dry. Rain chances are being mentioned, like 25%. Ha! That'll be the day. 

I'm determined to safeguard my own sanity while the rest of the world goes bonkers. 

Dead Sunflowers 2

 The first installment of these dead sunflowers remained a draft until today. I forgot to publish it! So I will do the second installment of these dead sunflowers as though I had not screwed up yesterday. I must have gotten distracted. 

Last year I had a forest of sunflowers and something called "goosefoot"-- one of the oldest known cultivated plants, now considered a weed. What a shame. The leaves are good to eat and the sap is said to be medicinal. I have not tried that yet, but I've put the leaves in salads. All of that stuff should come back and I've seen little green shoots here and there so I've started watering. My hope is for a bigger and better forest this year.