A new volunteer

Here's a recent addition to our back yard.  Google Lens says this is Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria), an introduced biennial weed.  The Missoula County Department of Ecology and Extension has it on their Noxious Weed Watch List, which doesn't surprise me in the least. 

Waiting with faint hope

To begin with, I was pretty, pretty, pretty close to 40°33'56.9"N 75°35'07.2"W in the map screen shot immediately below.  

The next image gives you an idea of what I saw looking west from nearby Grange Road, April 21, 2024.  One white flower was visible in the middle of an open field, and I walked over for a closer look.   

Soon the flowers were gone and the field was planted in soybeans.  But next spring, April 29, 2025 to be exact, the same kind of white flowers reappeared, shown in the third image.  They're called ornithogalum nutans, or drooping star-of-Bethlehem, and evidently their bulbs are pretty hardy, if not always welcome.

Finally, a view of the same field looking south, January 6, 2026.  The area shown in the prior pictures hasn't yet been dug up or graded, but in my experience, there's not much reason to be optimistic.

Until the early part of the decade, the roadside was seldom tended, and wildflowers grew all along it, including chicory, hawkweed, red clover, and Queen Anne's lace.  A short distance away, purple asters thrived near the bypass.  All that has changed, and I'm glad I took pictures while I had the chance.

March 13:  Township appears to have scraped off all remaining topsoil and piled it up for transfer somewhere else.  And that's that.

May 3:  A recent township public meeting announced that a new police station will be built on the site. Late last year, the township bought the property from the estate of its former owner.  The house on the property would be razed, and several tall trees have already been cut down. That includes the biggest one in the center of the above photo, lined up roughly between the 2nd and 3rd orange cone.  

Not dead yet

Taken this morning.  Cold weather, even light frost has had no effect on the wild radish that showed up in our bird garden this year.  

Also today:  I went outside to refill the bird feeders in the bird garden and spooked a cottontail, which hurried under the shed.  

(Post No. 1,000)

Another volunteer

There are several of these flowers in our small unlandscaped area out back.  Google Lens AI says, "The image displays an Ivyleaf Morning Glory, scientifically known as Ipomoea hederacea. This flowering plant belongs to the bindweed family and is characterized by its distinctive ivy-shaped leaves and funnel-shaped flowers, typically appearing in shades of blue, purple, or white."

But is it welcome wherever it grows?  "Ipomoea hederacea ... is considered an invasive plant, particularly due to its ability to spread rapidly, compete with native species, and form extensive runners along the soil that can quickly establish new plants. It is listed on the Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States as a problematic morning-glory species that can cause significant ecological issues, and its vigorous growth can suffocate other plants."

Out in the back yard

"The image displays Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti), also known by common names like Indian Mallow, Butterprint, or Buttonweed."  But also:  "Since being introduced to North America in the 18th century, velvetleaf has become an invasive species in agricultural regions of the eastern and midwestern United States."

Also on the unlandscaped part of our yard, there were a pair of cabbage whites and a brown skipper on pink sedum.

Along the Roadside

 

On the way home today, I took a route along a side road where Queen Anne's Lace, chicory, and hawkweed are plentiful.  But there were also large pinkish-purplish flowers, so I stopped for a closer look.     

    

 

Life in our back yard, plus something unrelated

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And now for something completely different:

Exactly like the Woody Allen joke:  the food is lousy, and such small portions.  

By any other name

I know, I know, it's hedge bindweed and it's an unwelcome invader.  It's almost impossible to get rid of when it gets its roots in, and it chokes out desirable greenery.  But I say it's Morning Glory, and I say it's pretty.

It used to be landscaped

Now it's loaded with volunteer greenery and insects that accompany it.  I like this way better.

Tonight's recap

Good Queen Swirly (9:44 a.m.)

But why?  (7:30 p.m.)

Two of the many seen along the way.  (7:35 p.m.)

Back in my own yard.  The Indian Blanket flower that began as a volunteer

 in late June 2020 is still thriving, more than five years later.  (7:47 p.m.)

Google Lens says, "The image displays a cluster of Verbena flowers, 

also known as Vervain."  (7:48 p.m.)