Win Some, Lose Some

A couple of things that brought me down today: my son found some sandpaper in the garage last night and took a couple of experimental swipes on the glossy front of our brand new minivan. Of course the 1990 Accord with rust flaking from every side was not tested in this manner.

Our elm tree appears to be dying. The entire canopy is wilting and brown leaves are drifting onto the deck like it's autumn in July.

But the swamp milkweed that I grew from seed last year is flourishing alongside the deck, and attracting monarch butterflies just like it is supposed to do. We also have a bumper crop of volunteer amaranth and sunflower, which is nice as we really neglected gardening this year. Hurray for perennials and self-seeding annuals! I think that next time I make lasagna I will subsitute chenopodium (goosefoot) for spinach in it, as we also have a good "crop" of that.