Pink Sunflowers?

  Last fall I ordered seeds for a pink sunflower - Midnight Oil - and coveted them throughout the winter for spring planting. They weren't cheap: 15 seeds were offered for $11.99 on Amazon (that's nearly $0.80 per seed!)

 It was probably April when the weather began to warm enough that I planted the seeds in potting soil and in peat pots on our enclosed south-facing porch.

 I moved them to the north end of the garden in mid-May when the risk of frost was past.

Recently I noticed the plants were beginning to form buds. They were still short - dwarf sunflowers that were no more than a yard tall. That was my first disappointment. But then the buds began to show color.

 Yellow!

06-16-24

 I figured maybe they began to show as the traditional yellow and then faded to pink.

 They didn't.

06-17-24

 Of the eleven plants I have growing in my garden, five have bloomed. All are yellow!

06-20-24

 Here's another close-up of the largest flower head.

06-20-24

 They're pretty but they're no more than the standard sunflower. And there's not a pink petal among them.

Later: The seller on Amazon offered a full refund. "I'm very sorry that you had a bad shopping experience," they wrote. At least the resolution was honorable.

06-24-24

Soffit Repair

  At the southwest edge of the house I've had a soffit area where the wood has slowly been softening. I remember doing to best I could to repair it but in recent years I did no more than slap on a coat of paint in an effort to buy time.

 The time ran out this year. Some of the wood was actually dropping away. There could be no more repairing; there could only be replacement. And that was well beyond me.

 The severely damaged soffit area.

 Another view of the irreparable damage.

 When our neighbor recently had a door replaced I asked if the guy she used was fairly well versed in carpentry repair. She said she was very happy with the work done to install her new door and that I should contact him.

 So I texted Cole Riegel who lives here in  Farmersville. He said he was sure he could do the work and that he'd stop by and give me an estimate. I accepted the whole project: replacement of the rotten wood, priming and painting.

 On Saturday (06/08/24) he stopped by and replaced the wood. Yesterday (06/09/24) he came by and finished the painting.

 That's the work-in-progress. New wood has been cut to fit and a coat of primer has been applied.

 Cole also painting the soffit on the west side of the house.

 This area wasn't rotten but it wouldn't hold paint. It's as good as new now.

 What caused the problem  in the first place? The downspout  at that corner of the house often plugged with tree litter and overran. I assume it just got wet too often. I had gutter guards installed in September 2023 and I haven't had that problem since.

 I'm impressed by the work this 22 year old handyman did. I'll use him again. And he says he also does HVAC which will offer yet another source of  assistance when needed.

Security cam footage of the work underway

My Most Popular Picture

  I take pride in my photography and since I got my first camera in 1970 I've taken many pictures. None has been as popular as this one:

 Yes, it's a close-up of Parker's nose.

 I posted it on a Facebook group I'm a member of [Schnauzer Families & Lovers] and since the photo was taken (06/02) it's revived 923 "likes" and more comments than I could ever respond to.

 What I said was this: "When I wake up at night and feel soft breathing against my face  I open my eyes and this is what I see."

 Parker has always been a popular subject but just her "black rubber nose" has taken  the prize.