Around the grounds in Paradise...

Around the grounds in Paradise...  I've been working outside this morning, moving sprinklers (perhaps for the last time this season), attaching the backhoe to my tractor (in preparation for tree planting this coming week!), and cleaning up some messes.  As I did so, I spotted a couple interesting things.

First up: some teasels in bloom.  This is way late for them to be blooming, but these particular plants had some special challenges: I've mowed them down three times during the year, each time before they had a chance to go to seed.  This time they put up very short stalks (only about 14" high, instead of the usual 3 to 5 feet) and bloomed.  They don't have much time left in the season, and somehow they must know it.  What they don't know is that tomorrow (or maybe even this afternoon) they'll be mowed down again.  Teasel always blooms in this peculiar fashion, with a band of bloom that moves down as time goes by.  The top most parts of these have already bloomed; the bottom are yet to bloom (assuming I didn't mow them down).

Next: wild rose hips, growing near the irrigation canal on the east side of our property.  We could collect dozens of bushels of rose hips.  If I liked rose hip tea, I'd be set for life :)  People around here generally think of wild roses as more-or-less a weed, but we like them.  We like the blooms, the fruit, and the birds they attract...