Yard discoveries

The honeybees are among those enjoying the loquat flowers. The pecan leaves are almost down; tomorrow they'll all be on the ground if these breezes keep up. Butterflies of all kinds are particularly enjoying the asclepias flowers, although some enjoy the lantanas. Cardinals and mockingbirds are still picking at the lantana berries. White-wing doves and the occasional mourning dove are finishing off the last of the wild sunflower seeds. Fennel is rejuvenated and blooming again. Lettuces and greens of various mysterious sorts are thriving and ornamental in pots and are ready to eat. There are even a few cherry tomatoes ripening. Nasturtiums are blooming more than ever and there are a few hyacinth bean flowers. Geraniums like this weather for blooming and so does rosemary. We see more and more leaves of anemone, ranunculus, and a variety of narcissi and jonquils. Pink oxalis is blooming like crazy. Clockvine (thunbergia alata) is, too. There are no hyacinth leaves showing yet, but today, for the first time, we saw leaves of a couple of different varieties of species tulips popping up everywhere in the side-yard lawn. This happened overnight. Last Sunday a mixed variety of old seeds of many sorts were scattered on bare patches in the St. Augustine; this morning there were many germinating mysteries.