My sunflower forest~~Sunday Stills 052409

This was my "sunflower forest" in its prime. ALL the sunflowers have now gone to seed and the birds are busy eating them. The ones that are left are all dried out and only 4 remain. I have left them for the birds. While they aren't pretty, they DO serve a function! I only hope my neighbor's gardener doesn't decide to come over and put ROUNDUP on them!!!!!!!! I have planted some seeds among the tall stalks and the seeds are coming up and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't trespass on our property (Yes, I've now put up "no trespassing" signs)! But, this is how they looked when they were tall and mature.

New crop of sunflowers~ May 23, 2009

I've been so devastated by the loss of my sunflowers out front that I've neglected to update my blog about the 3 crops growing in my front yard! These are actually doing very well, as you can see. They are about 16 inches tall and the ones in the circle by the little acacia tree are about 4 inches tall. These are SAFE from my neighbor's TRESPASSING gardener, who sprayed my ones out front with ROUNDUP! And, the dogs leave them alone, too, so they are growing quite nicely!

Sunflowers growing to the sky~~Skywatch Friday for May 15, 2009

No, these aren't my sunflowers. Mine are dead and gone. These are down at our local community college. I stopped by one morning about 6:30 a.m. just to take some photos and I heard the bullfrog croaking there, so I ambled over past the garden, only to hear the klink, klink of the lock coming off the gate. A very nice gentleman offered to let me wander around and take pics and I saw their GORGEOUS sunflowers! Aren't they magnificent? And, nothing but blue sky overhead! And, it's only MAY!!! Skywatch Friday for May 15, 2009.

Other crops

While my own sunflowers were decimated by "unknown forces" (I STILL think my neighbors did something to them...), further south in our valley, crops are in full growth. Corn, peppers, grapes...they are GORGEOUS! I wish I had this kind of talent!

Sad report and UPDATE

We have hostile neighbors to our east. The two fellows there pick on everybody in the neighborhood. They harass their neighbor on the other side, too. They've reported me to animal control because I didn't pick up the dog poop for a week when I was sick with pneumonia. Yup. Isn't that just neighborly? They've complained because we had 4 dogs at one point, so I had to find a new home for one of them (we have our two dogs now and our son's)...They call the city and complain if I have ONE blade of Bermuda grass coming up in my rocky area out front.
But...
NOW they've really done it. I came home yesterday to find my new crop of sunflowers completely brown and DEAD. Yup. And NOT from the heat because I had just watered them the previous night and the ground was still wet. Roundup? I'm going to ask my other neighbor to take a look and give me a professional opinion (she's a landscaper)...
If so, I'll be contacting an attorney. I'm SICK AND TIRED of being harassed by these two and I'm just heartbroken that they would be so thoughtless and CRUEL! I came home one afternoon to find THEIR gardener on our property trimming our mesquite, which leaned over on their property. I screamed at him then because he was stepping on the baby sunflowers! He turned out to be a really nice man and I apologized to him, but...they didn't tell me or ask for permission but, honestly, it gives them afternoon shade...WTF??? So, this afternoon, I'll go out with the camera and take pics of my dead sunflower babies and think about this all day. I mean, how MEAN is that????????

UPDATE May 9, 2009. Yes. Something WAS sprayed on them. My other neighbor confirmed it. I mean, how mean and inconsiderate is that? What's next? Poison my dogs?

Tacoma Stans~~Mellow Yellow for Monday, May 4, 2009

Hubby and I drove down to our local community college yesterday to see their garden area. They also are growing sunflowers and even corn! Corn this early! Early corn! There were some rabbits hopping around and we tried to get some pics of them, but they moved too quickly! We did see these Tacoma stans blooming there. I have one on the corner of my house, but these weren't mine. Aren't they pretty against the blue sky? Mellow Yellow for Monday, May 4, 2009.

Sunflowers and blue sky~~SkyWatch Friday 050109

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago. My sunflowers are beginning to go to seed! I noticed seeds on the ground this week and I looked up to see one dry, brown sunflower above me. Its seeds had scattered all over the ground! I cut off another one last night and I'm letting it dry. Well, that is the life cycle of the sunflower! I've enjoyed watching them grow, bloom, and now go to seed. I have 4 new crops coming up and I'll plant another couple of rows this weekend. I have 4 packets of seeds for the kids to plant at school today so that they will be able to share the "sunflower experience".