one week left in july

ever since the mason bee disaster i have pretty much had my own way out in the yard...which makes me a bit nervous because it aint natural...there is a certain amount of stoicism inherent in gardening...not everything goes according to plan...sometimes the surprises are unexpectedly pleasant when something that looks unpromising turns out well...then again there are mason be debacles...the grapes in the trees are softening and turning color which is what they are supposed to do...it's what they did last season until they withered on the vine...hopefully that lost season left me with a stronger plant rather than a terminally weakened one...we'll see by septemeber...if the mason bees failed the alfalfa leaf cutter bees did not...they seem to congregate in the same place and they seem plentiful ( there are more on other branches and still others buzzing about...nature takes...nature gives...i will accept that quid pro quo...the tesointe looks great...four robust plant have survived the season so far...the two shown here and a couple more..bu that early flower bugs me...sure there are branches forming at auxiliary buds and branches on large plants can produce their own flowers...but i cannot find any evidence of silks to go with that flower...it is just too early...so what's up? don't know...i aim to try to find out..so a mixed bag with good empirical evidence and a boatload of questions..the season rolls on.