War on Weeds: Climbing Milkweed Vine

Recently I noticed a vine growing up through one of my rose of Sharon bushes.  It has heart-shaped leaves like those of a morning glory.  It wasn't even noticeable until it grew over the top of the rose of Sharon, where it was so thick it nearly smothered my bush.

I've been pulling sections of the vine off, but yesterday I noticed that it was growing seed pods.  The pods are different--a tapered shape about 4 inches long. When I opened one, the seeds had white tails that reminded me of milkweed.  They also helped me identify the plant.

Morning Glories

Morning glories: Grandpa Ott's and Carnivale

As fall is coming, and temperatures are moderating, some flowers have wrapped it up for the year.  Others are taking advantage of this cooler time, and are blooming exuberantly.  My morning glories certainly are!  This morning the vines were just covered in flowers.

Here, morning glories don't start blooming until half-way through the summer, but once they begin, they certainly make up for lost time.


Starting Fall Vegetables

The flowers in one of my wheeled planters were dying off, so I pulled up the drying plants.  I dug in some fresh compost to revitalize the soil, and wet it through.  Then I planted lettuce and carrots.

Rain Barrel Refill

Raindrops on roses

Earlier this summer it seemed like it would never stop raining--we had a shower every day for weeks.  During this time, we had over 15 inches of rain.  My rain barrels were constantly full, but I never needed to use them, because everything was kept well watered by the rain.  Then when the rainy period ended, it went to the other extreme, and we had no rain at all for weeks.  I used up all the water in the rain barrels, and with no rain, they didn't get refilled.  Even with five rain barrels, I ended up needing to water my garden with city water.

Sinus Rinse

In yesterday's post I listed the sinus rinse as a very helpful method of dealing with pollen allergies.  I wanted to explain this a bit further for those who might be considering trying it.

Using a sinus rinse was first recommended to me by my allergist.  He explained that it would help with inhalant allergies such as those to pollen, mold spores, animal dander, and dust mites.  It helps your body get rid of the irritating allergens that have found their way into your nose, and clears out congested mucus.

Hay Fever Season

As fall approaches, we enjoy the more moderate weather. It's such a relief for people, pets and gardens when temperatures no longer get scorching hot day after day.  My dog and I both enjoy being able to take longer walks together without being overheated. The down-side to fall coming, though, is hay fever season.

This is the time of year when weed allergies come to the fore, the most infamous of which is ragweed.  This is the allergy that affects a lot of people who don't have other allergy problems. I've been noticing the last couple of weeks that I'm waking up with a bit of a stuffy nose, and other people have been mentioning stuffy, runny noses, sneezing, and itchy eyes.

Goldfish Update

In early August, I noticed that the goldfish in my pond were no longer coming up to the surface of the water when I came out to feed them.  This has happened before when herons or egrets from the nearby river have come to visit, and gone fishing in my pond.