Weed, weed, weed

Have you noticed that the more one weeds, the less one needs to? Earlier this season, I attacked the now unwanted Northern Sea Oats growing out front. They are difficult to uproot, so they grow back. I attacked them again today, but apparently the previous attack worked better than I realized. Now I just have to remember NOT to pull the sea oats growing along the south side of the house (which are doing very well).

The past two days, while the temps are moderate, have been spent attacking not only the Northern sea oats (which have started forming seed heads) but the Canada thistle as well, which is starting to bloom. The corner formerly known as "The Meadow" is rife with thistle; dealing with that bit of real estate is scheduled for next season, so I just keep whacking down the thistle there. Elsewhere, I pull it. I *think* I am winning this war,compared to previous summers.

The temperature this morning was so moderate - 55 degrees at 7am - I cleaned up the area under the rhododendron. What had been keeping me from that chore was a couple of bee/wasp nests in the ground between the rhododendron and the purple leaf smokebush. But early in the day, before the sun warms things up, they sleep in. Just as I finished with my yardening chore, they woke up and started foraging for whatever it is they consume. Win, win.

The so-called meadow has grown a lot of common milkweed the past few years. Last fall, I cut it all down, which apparently is how one gets rid of common milkweed, as only a few plants survived. That's okay because I just can't decide what to do with that corner of the yard, turn it into lawn or follow through on the original dream of making it into a meadow. If the latter, I should probably spray the thistle which would be hard to do without also spraying anything else growing there. Decisions, decisions.

One of the surviving milkweed plants growing through a squirrel baffle

Apparently, I've become an art collector of sorts. A cheap one, but a collector nonetheless. Last fall, I purchased some pots from one local potter. Last week, I came across another pot that I just had to have.


I am drawn to what may be called "functional art" - not only is there visual pleasure but usefulness, too. I haven't decided what to plant in this pot yet. It's about 4" tall. Any suggestions? Maybe cacti or succulents?

Besides weeding, I've been wrestling with fencing. There are several wood fence panels behind the Big Bluestem beds, to discourage the dogs. I needed some 4' rebar to keep them upright, which required trips to three big box home improvement stores. Then there are the circles of poultry netting and hardware cloth that I somewhat anally surrounded all new trees and shrubs with in the past, whether it was necessary or not; some of that was removed. I freed the new grass growing in the shade next to the deck from its protective layer of fencing, as I think it can withstand some dog traffic now. Wrangling all these bits and bobs have left my arms and legs dotted with mini puncture wounds. It's been only 8 years since my last tetanus shot, so I think I'm okay.

The birds seem a bit confused by the missing feeders. The purple leaf smokebush is simply *spectacular* this year. The coneflower is starting to bloom, as is the iron weed and bee balm. I removed the last of the purple leaf sandcherry - it looked too pathetic. And from where I am sitting in the den, I can see a tall specimen of Canada thistle I missed.