We got RAIN last night, Hallelujah! Watered EVERYTHING at once; the big orange walk, the orange carpet laid out for Tony Vitello and the NATIONAL CHAMPION TN VOLS look vibrant, still wearing ORANGE.

Never grown these sunflowers before; seems appropriate they should bloom as 50,000 gathered on short notice to celebrate, BIG ORANGE COUNTRY.

Otis is still on parade, ready to play peek-a-boo at the forty yard flower bed; he's got a white mood indicator on the tip of his tail, and his nose is white, making it super sensitive as he "winds" game in the air.

Here's the start of the forty-yard flower bed; he's in there, remember the mood indicator.

Otis likes playing peek-a-boo, lifting his nose to the wind, smelling the call of the wild.

I'll be on Goldfinch and butterfly watch as the flowers catch up to the watering they received last night, Hallelujah, praise the lord.

Yeah, it was getting dry, now nature can sing, and do a thousand beautiful things.

Happy Thursday dear friends of SOI.

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Retired Cork #1 Retired Cork #2 #r-z2poli has 3 in last 24hrs. (This cork has 5 in last 24hrs)

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1. Sat Jun 29 16:59 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
   cynthia leigh said:

   These are absolutely beautiful Pan! You are so blessed to live out in such a beautiful area! You're a hard worker and it sure pays off!

2. Fri Jun 28 11:50 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
   Panurge said:

   Matter's Knot: I'm not sure why we have no chimpmunks, seen a couple about twenty years ago in the woods, coyotes maybe, habitat, my favorites are Chip and Dale; when the Queen and I wiggle our fingers like cheerleaders at a ballgame, and remark, "spirit fingers" then yeah, it's a Chip and Dale day.

   I'm sorry about you losing your apex predator, that is the reason we do not raise corn; Otis has gotten old, used to wear the rows out on patrol, barely hand to weed, sooo, heck, if you lose your apex predator and dog is getting old, what's a kind hearted man supposed to do?

   Cool about the hawks; I sit out late, one comes around as the lightning bugs begin; tried to take some pictures the last two nights, did a SORRY job.

   Smiling, laughing about the Quality of Mercy, and heck yea, it is not strained, but "TWICE BLESSED".

3. Fri Jun 28 10:41 * - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
   Matter's Knot said:

   And now, this:

   "I was in Mercy, Australia, recently and was served tea made from the hair of a koala bear."

   "You're kidding! How was it?"

   "Oh, it was awful. It was filled with koala hair!"

   "Well, you know, the koala tea of Mercy is not strained."

4. Fri Jun 28 10:27 * - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
   Matter's Knot said:

   Up here, smack dab between the 42nd and 43rd parallel, where we're typically well into April before winter finally and reluctantly releases its grip, cleome assumes all its glory right about now, first week in July. And so I've long associated those bursts of red, pink and white with fireworks.

   Plus, they smell like pot, which I like.

5. Fri Jun 28 10:16 * - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
   Matter's Knot said:

   No chipmunks?! How can that be? They're everywhere.

   Almost two years ago we lost our apex predator, our cat of 20 years. Still hurts. He wasn't a family pet. He was family.

   As he slowed down over those last years, the rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks began to make hay. Now they freely multiply and wreak havoc.

   Cause and effect: Two red-tailed hawks now visit quite frequently, go talon-to-talon when they happen to be here at the same time. Put on a terrific show. Have a great shot of Larry (Bird -- the other one is Atlanta -- as in Hawks) swooping in and snatching a baby bunny. Shot video of Larry de-furring the poor little bastard and begin to pull at its flesh while it was still alive. The quality of mercy is not strained.

   But between them, Larry and Atlanta do a small fraction of the population management work our George used to do.

6. Fri Jun 28 08:33 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
   Panurge said:

   Matter's Knot: Most of the cleome came up volunteer, the Queen did grow a few in potting soil early then transplanted into beds, but yeah, the pink fans remind me of burlesquese dancers, and the spiked stalk cautions beware.

   We don't have chipmunks, but we do have squirrels, and they have terrible habits; I've seen them dehead sunflowers to banquet on picnic tables.

7. Fri Jun 28 07:20 * - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
   Matter's Knot said:

   We skipped cleome this year. I miss them.

   Here, those sunflowers reaching full bloom would be greeted with an invasion of seed-robbing, flower-destroying squirrels and chipmunks.

   But then, we've no sentinel to protect the rooted citizenry.

8. Thu Jun 27 17:56 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
   peach said:

9. Thu Jun 27 17:30 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
   Mercury said:

   Ahh, to be among your beautiful flowers..

10. Thu Jun 27 17:23 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
    Panurge said:

    Delilah: Some of the sunflowers are getting tall and big too.

    

    And this stealth flying flower carried beauty bombs.

    

11. Thu Jun 27 15:48 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
    krysta said:

    Beautiful flowers!

12. Thu Jun 27 15:27 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
    Delilah said:

    I adore the sunflowers. I used to have a competition with my girls and grandchildren as to who could grow the tallest and biggest.....they usually won!.....LOL

13. Thu Jun 27 12:39 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
    vaash said:

    Yowza! Beautiful... and the flowers are marvelous too!

14. Thu Jun 27 12:22 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
    Gabrieli said:

    ...going gangbusters.

15. Thu Jun 27 11:01 ~ - Subject: * - 0 reaction(s)
    cait~ said:

    Just look at those flowers!