Pleasures of the pleasance

We had a fine view of a very dapper fox yesterday morning at 7:15 exactly. It had been a while since we had see one, although armadillos have been more in evidence than ever. The fox was in fine condition, trotting briskly across the street, ears up and tail floating behind. There has continued to be a profusion of monarch butterflies. Their caterpillars are accounting for many, many milkweed leaves. We see the larvae chewing and chewing, fattening by the hour, but have not found a chrysalis yet. We continue to enjoy visits from goldfinches. We see them on wild sunflowers but wonder whether they aren't interested in fennel seeds, also. Some creature is. Cantaloupe seeds from H-E-B Pecos melons have sprouted and so have many kinds of morning glories, some deliberately planted two days ago and others as volunteers. We're finding nasturtium seedlings in all sorts of places, in pots and in the ground, where they were never planted. We'll take that as a sign that it's time to deliberately plant some nasturtiums. Oxblood lilies have not quit yet. We seem to have enjoyed more rain yesterday afternoon and evening than most did. Our screen house collapsed in a gust of wind, but was easily set up again before breakfast this morning. The angle of light from the sun has definitely changed with the season, and so we have adjusted our openings and closings of windows and window-coverings accordingly.