late august in the back yard

something more than a half inch of rain overnight ( and it is still raining some ) isn't unheard of here in august however the alternating patterns of heat and wet/cool ( last week we got two and a half inches of rain[in my yard anyway]overnight...that is a bit more anomalous ) are not the norm...i have been mowing the lawn at least weekly which is not a usual august activity...usually hotter and drier by far...i have not been doing much watering of late...

alternating patterns of weather are not impacting day length though and some of the plants are taking a cue from that in terms of where their season is...the mashua is beginning to show signs of fall colors and will need to come i before a hard freeze...probably after a frost kills back the plants...

there is maize ripening on the stalks...

there is also maize being eaten on the stalk...how much will actually reach fruition is a matter to take up with the birds and squirrels...we know this was a possibility when we planted...predation is not unexpected...

blossoms continue to transform into beans...

there are tomatoes in varying stages of maturity...

and the hot banana peppers are getting hotter...

the jerusalem artichokes are still blooming and there will be tubers soon enough...

the zucchini is in flower and producing late season squash as well...

the ramps have seeds cooking away...

some are done and i have begun to collect them as they mature..they are small...

and closely resemble onion seeds which is no surprise considering they are both from the allium family...cousins...

the growing numbers of tiers of support roots...

and zea mexicana ears turning from green to maroon and brown are signals that at least some of the teosinte is finishing up...the northern tepehuan has a much longer season and i don't expect ears before late next month and no seed before october...

i have begun to harvest mature zea mexicana seed from some of those maturing ears however...i will test for viability in the spring...

the frog in the corn seems to still be at home there...whether this will persists as the corn begins to die back is uncertain...the benefit of blending in may turn to a cost of standing out...he may pull a houdini...