Seize the Sunflower

Mr. Bushy--as big as the head of seeds.

One plant with its weighty head remains in the yard.  It attracts attention from nearly all the critters.

Finding a way to reach the underside where the gold lies.

Birds have pecked at it.  Jays have hung upside down till their brains nearly burst.  The deer have eaten all the leaves they can reach (the stalk is over six feet tall), and deer don't even like sandpaper-abrasive leaves like these.

Did you know that squirrels eat the flesh of the head
as well as the seeds?

This guy is determined to get his share, fair or not. He comes better equipped to make an end to this valiant plant than all the other visitors.  Until I came out and took down the plant, it appeared to be all his.  Nope. The head goes on the ground under the tree where dozens of birds feed.  Just a little lesson in sharing.

Busy as a Bird

Rock and dirt divider between two driveways made
spectacular by the Jays.  Not a drop of added water for
all that splendor!

Everyone knows bees are busy.  And ants are legendary for being industrious.

No shyness is this sunny head.  

But I've never thought of Scrub Jays as anything but noisy, though I acknowledge their smartly attractive bright blue plumage. Now I'm having second thoughts (even as a Jay takes a raucously noisy splash in the bird bath).






The most attractive and glorious points of interest in our whole yard this summer are what the Jays planted for me.

One of these plants had over 20 sunny flowers on it.  Now the heads are hanging heavy with seed.