Hammerhead

Back in the day, when I was a kid, my grandpa had a nickname for me.  He called me Hammerhead, and he did not mean it as a term of endearment. It has to do with my um...persistence.  Yeah, let's call it persistence...

If you're wondering where I'm going with this, here's a hint:

Yep, you guessed it, today was the day for my bi-annual exercise in futility.  I'm talking about planting bluebonnets.  Again....None of the ones I planted last spring came up, nor the ones I'd planted last fall, or the spring before that.  

I don't know why I even bother any more, but I keep clinging to the hope that one day, I'll have a stand established.  And no, I don't need you to tell me that I need to boil the seeds, or freeze them, or scuff them with a file, or any of the other tips and tricks.  I've tried them all.   Every so often, I can get a single plant  -- or two, if I'm lucky -- that survives long enough to bloom, but they don't come back the next year.  

Maybe I'm at the wrong climate for them, I don't know. 

Be that as it may, I got out this morning before it got hot and planted three packets of seeds in the back corner of my yard, and planted one in my raised bed.  

By the way, my lavender was deader'n a hammer, so I pulled it up and tossed what was left into the compost pile.  Which has something I think is a variety of Morning Glory growing in it. 

It's hanging in there, even thought the drought has it struggling as well.  You know it's dry when even your weeds are dying. 

I marked my little bluebonnet bed so I could make sure to water it, then moved on to the next project, which was to re-pot this plant so that it stands up straight. 

It's one I got from my dad's funeral back in 1995, and the amazing part is it's still alive.  But it tends to lean.  Every few years, I have to straighten it back up.  If I don't, it tumps over every time a breeze blows.  It didn't take much to solve this problem.  I just loosened the soil around the root ball, straightened the plant, and added a bit more potting soil to hold it in place. 

The last project for the day was to get my Mums potted.

Now, they're happily nestled into pots and sitting on my front porch.  And I'm telling you, it was so nice to be able to get out and do this stuff without the oppressive heat and humidity.  I spent a pleasant morning getting outside work done, but now I have to publish this because I need my computer to watch football. 

Geaux and Hook 'Em!

P.S.  I had to update yesterday's post, because it felt like Saturday all day, so today is the official first day of Astronomical Fall.