Survivors

Weather: We’ve settled into a typical monsoon season with thunder every afternoon, and actual rain some days. Biennials especially are growing. I’ve removed some kind of grass several times from the same place. The annuals, however, are taking their signals from the lower temperatures and not taking advantage of the moisture.

Last useful rain: 8/25. Week’s low: 53 degrees F. Week’s high: 91 degrees F in the shade.

What’s blooming in the area: Hybrid roses, yellow potentilla, desert willow, trumpet creeper, bird of paradise, silver lace vine, red-tipped yuccas, Russian sage, rose of Sharon, purple phlox, datura, sweet pea, annual four o’clocks, alfalfa, farmer’s sunflowers, coreopsis, black-eyed Susan, chrysanthemums, corn, pampas grass

What’s blooming in my yard: Miniature roses, caryopteris, hosta, garlic chives, golden spur columbine, large-flowered soapwort, David phlox, winecup mallow, hollyhocks, lead plant, pink evening primroses, sea lavender, perennial four o’clock, calamintha, larkspur, white yarrow, chocolate flowers, blanket flowers, Mönch aster, purple cone flowers, bachelor buttons, zinnias

What’s blooming outside the walls and fences: Apache plume, tamarix, trees of heaven, purple mat flower, stick leaf, velvetweed, bindweed, silver leaf nightshade, greenleaf five eyes, scarlet creeper, leather leaf globemallow, white sweet clover, Queen Anne’s lace, goat’s head, prostate knotweed, toothed spurge, purslane, yellow evening primrose, Hopi tea, horseweed, wild lettuce, dandelions, goat’s beard, plain’s paper flower, áñil del muerto, native sunflowers, goldenrod, golden hairy asters, Tahoka daisy, pigweed, Russian thistles, quack grass

Bedding plants: Pansies, sweet alyssum; petunias and dwarf African marigolds locally.

Tasks: Began working in an area where some kind of wild rose has naturalized. It has a large pink flower and is fragrant. However, it produces way more thorns than flowers, and is unwelcome in most places.

Animal sightings: Hummingbirds, other small brown birds, geckos, bumble bees, hornets, other small flying insects, grasshoppers, harvester and sidewalk ants; heard crickets

Weekly update: One benefit of getting some rain is I’m not tied to the yard every morning running water. After last Saturday’s rain, I was able to go into town Sunday with my camera. It’s the only time traffic is light enough to be safe.

I wanted to see what had survived the demolition crew at the old Cybercafé.

The lot was surrounded on three sides by dirt-lined ditches that fed water to others. I think there’s also a ditch on the fourth side that may be inactive. Farmer’s square-mesh wire fence went along the outside of the ditch on three sides. On the fourth, it was inside, and chain link had been erected outside. At the corner, a pipe fence was protecting the ditch diversion was wayward vehicles.

The crew was professional. They left a barren, level lot with gravel on one side and dirt on the other. The sweet peas, daylilies, Russian sage, trees, and grasses were all gone.

They got as close to the fences and ditches as they could, but the heavy machinery couldn’t get to the edge of the eastern ditch facing the main road. There some sweet peas were blooming. Some of the trumpet creeper also survived in the fence.

The north side bordered another property. The apricot was still standing in a line of vegetation that suggested that inactive ditch.

On the other sides the crew topped off the Siberian elms and trees of heaven living in the fences. They’ll come back, and new ones will sprout as they did when the previous tenants neglected the back of the property.

What survived for the moment was a group of piñon that grew between the chain link and wire fences. They were near the diversion point in the ditch that sent water in two directions and had water whenever the ditches ran. It probably kept water as deep as the roots had sunk.

The main ditches were protected by law and the fences by convention. People here do not remove fences or walls unless they plan to erect better ones. The exceptions are land that is developed for retail use, or adobe walls.

People seem to have no compunction about smashing the last. One person did so recently to move in a double wide. Another was damaged a few years ago, and the hole filled with steel farm gates. Recently, someone expanded that opening to bring in a double wide, but refilled the hole with another gate.

The piñon were only protected by the inner fence. Since they’re on the property, there’s nothing to stop a developer from cutting them down. The two that were inside the fences had orange crosses on their trunks

Notes on photographs: All were taken 19 August 2018.
1. Piñon (Pinus cembroides edulus) growing at the ditch diversion with trees of heaven and Siberian elms. The ditch diversion is near the traffic light.

2. Trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) blooming in the north property line on the ditch at the sidewalk.

3. Sweet peas (Lathyrus latifolia) blooming in the farm fence. The darkness at the back indicated the location of the ditch.