new silks, ears, and a slow bee

one northern tepehuan plant has been producing ears for a couple of weeks...

and now the second one has produced an irruption of silks...my plants and i are in the climate...the race is on between viable seed and frost...so far it has been unseasonably warm...how long that last will have a direct impact on the seed...

i have been reporting on the zea mays parvaglumis flowers for a while now...

and they too have irrupted in silks...seemingly overnight...this varietyhas an exceptionally long season and i am not hopeful of anything that nears viable seed...so we will see if climate change drives the autumn weather to the mild side for the extant ears...rationally one should hope not...it would not be a good omen if it does...then again i am emotionally involved in this and would really like viable northern tepehuan seed ( zea mays parvaglumis seed seeds widely available and dirt cheap...i just purchased an ounce of seed for $2.97...northern tepehaun was never easy to get, however it seems to have vanished )

the weather has cooled some...not enough to keep the late season bees from flying...however enough to slow them down to posing speed...they may be in deep trouble as a species but the marigolds are still inviting them.