The Mum: Yes, it has been a very busy week with lots of work to take up loads of time. Last night I collapsed on the sofa-my body said “No more, woman or imma gonna hurt you” but apparently my body lied about the threat and delivered a raging ache in her lower back. She’s hoping now that things are semi-back to a more normal schedule that her lower back will stop aching nonstop. I asked Wilson when did I get so old but he didn’t have an answer…
Wilson: {interrupting} Not an answer you’d want to hear, at any rate.
The Mum: Wait, are you implying I’m just old?
Wilson: Umm, might be. You know if the shoe fits, you have to wear it. But I digress. Let’s get on with it and share what little we managed to capture around our neighborhood, shall we?
The Mum: Oh gosh, you know you’ve cut me to the quick, House Pony. Alrighty then, show me what you’ve got.
Wilson: Let’s first start with an update on the bloody cottonwood seeds that continue to stick to everything. No matter how many times you clean them up, the afternoon winds manage to disperse loads more. This was just a teensy fraction of them that rolled up together.
The Mum: Oh yes, I’m so over the cottonwood seeds. It’s beyond incomprehensible why there is so doggone much of these fluffy seed heads. It’s as if they’re never going to end.
Wilson: It funny how fluffy they are when they’re floating around for a spot to land. After a few days the seeds begin to dry out and then they resemble popcorn and they are crunchy under your feet. These were found on top of the BBQ grill cover.
The Mum: I know, they’re everywhere. Luckily there are other things that are non-cottonwood related that brought smiles this week.
Wilson: Quite, Mum. Like this blooming yarrow. It’s so cheerful to look at and several of the homes near us have planted it. I think this variety is Moonshine. It’s very fuss-free, and loves the heat and blooms with large clusters of canary yellow flowers on narrow stems on ferny-like, grey-green foliage clumps. Landscapers use it to accent sunny borders and rock gardens, or in mass plantings like it appears around our area to create a nice band of color throughout summer. The beauty of this particular yarrow is that it doesn’t go bananas naturalizing like so many other yarrow varieties.
The Mum: Seeing these over by the mailboxes always makes me happy, even if it’s hot as blazes over there. It’s an especially great plant for our mountain desert climate.
Wilson: It is a beauty, no doubt, but there’s beauty in the milkweed plant that’s beginning to bloom now. Hopefully that means there’ll be lots of butterflies arriving soon and not just the cabbage butterflies we’ve begun seeing around the neighborhood. Milkweed seems to be everywhere around the golf course and along the Ralston Creek Trail where we walk everyday.
The Mum: The grasses along the trail have really gotten tall and thick. With a bit of rain recently, even the dandelions are gigantic. I think it’s actually Salsify or Goatsbeard, not the typical small yellow flowered plants we find in people’s lawn. 
Wilson: Well I’m no horticulturist, but it looks like your average dandelion to me. Anyway, it’s not the most unusual thing we saw this week. While it looks a little bit like your average every day Canadian goose, it was actually a wild female turkey on the golf course. You don’t see those every day. Mum didn’t have her big camera with her and had to rely on her cell phone to capture it and sadly it’s not a great shot, plus it turned its head and waddled away as fast as her long legs would carry her.
The Mum: Nope, you sure don’t see them all the time. But it’s always a joy whenever I see some new critter along our walks. We’re starting to see lots of blue jays now but they seem against posing so I haven’t managed to capture any semi-reasonable shots. Hopefully soon though, since we are seeing them every day now.
Wilson: Well, that’s it from us. We hope you are able to check out some of Nature’s finest sights. Whatever you do, we hope you have a terrific weekend. Stay cool if you can (or in the case of some of you, stay dry).
Live, love, bark! 🐾
I’d love to be there and share those lovely sights with you, Wilson.
WOW……never a dull moment (photographically speaking) out there in your neck of the woods. Always something blooming and a LOT of things we weren’t familiar with until you told us about them! Everything in the garden department is struggling in the strangling heat here and Virginia is in severe drought in lots of places. Fortunately our County is not as bad off as most other spots. Thanks for sharing the pretty things you all see – we’ll pretend they’re photos from our yard (hahahahaha).
Love and Hugs, Teddy and Mom Pam
We’re in a bit of a hot spell, too. Any outside work needs to be done early in the day, and now with the solstice approaching, after supper is possible, too. The garden is going gangbusters and I’m loving it.
Have a great weekend, hopefully you’ll catch up on your rest!
Great pics of plants for our pollinator friends!
Many thanks, Lisa. Its always good to think of pollinators when landscaping and Nature seems to do it extra well. Have a pawsome weekend!
Days in the 90’s here right now. Way too hot for the dogs’ midday potty break, which lasts only long enough to pee and then back in. Luckily we have plenty of foster cats to play with inside, where it is cool!
I’m with you, it’s too doggone hot. Period. Wilson and I are already looking forward to autumn! Have a great weekend playing with the new foster kitties.
Tact, Wilson, just try a little tact….
Ha…now that’s funny. Wilson is nothing if not a straight shooter. Have a wonderful weekend, Helen.