august in the back yard

between daisy the killer cat and the plant-skydd repellant, the hopi blue on the south side of the house has withstood the squirrels ( so far ) and has produced a couple of ears...these are not the nine inch ears that the campus plants have produced, but they are credible production and, with luck, they will reach maturity ( 83 to 105 days )...the northern tepehuan teosinte got a late start out there...it is notorious for being a difficult germinator ( not like eastern gamagrass but touchy all the same )...so it's about two feet shorter than last year's version as it starts to flower ( third photo ) hopefully its more robust cousin on campus will flower soon...i will be collecting pollen from them both to attempt to produce ears in both plants...i got 44 last season and i am hopeful or more even though i am not sanguine about bringing the seeds to maturity ( unless there is an incredibly late seasonal change )...the sweet potato vines ( fourth photo ) are doing well and next month should see tubers from them...i took no photos today but the apple trees are doing well and have spent their second season establishing bigger root systems and gaining some height..i'll post some photos before the season ends...the last photo is of some zea diploperennis dwarfed by the flowering jerusalem artichokes to the left ( and right , for that matter )...more later as i discover if the maize comes to fruition and the tubers mature.