sort of a saturday surprise...

...but not wholly unexpected...this si what happens when you deal with an invasive species that is native to boot...it is on its home turf and it is relentless...the ones on campus ( top photo ) i knew about...the ones on the south side of the house ( second ) i knew about...the ones in a container at the back of the yard ( third ) o knew about...the ones under the mulberry tree ( fourth ) i probably wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for that big yellow helianthus blossom...i had though we were in the late summer doldrums with not much going on...no teosinte silks yet...nor spuds ready to come in...potato fruits still too hard to process...a flat spot...so the sunchokes thought it time to startle the gardener and remind him that nothing is really static...