prairie point

lazy rainy afternoon

Just what the doctor would have ordered. A slow drizzling rain has been replenishing our parched garden all day. From inside we watch the birds frolicking in the mist and splashing in the birdbath.

Our cats keep demanding attention. They go to the door and want out and then they turn away and follow us and get in the middle of whatever we are doing. About fifteen minutes later we do the same routine over again. If it was a sunny day they would just curl up and go to sleep. I seem to remember that we acted the same way as children on rainy afternoons. We would never know how to entertain ourselves. Mom would suggest activities, bring cookies and try to referee the arguments that would inevitably break out.

The hummingbirds are active too. They don't seem to be coming to our feeder but they are enjoying the flame acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus). I would love to get a picture of a hummingbird but with this digital camera I think there is not much chance.

The numerous long red trumpets of flame acanthus are ideal for hummers. The three-foot tall shrub itself is shaped somewhat like a flame, and this time of year it has so many flowers that it does seem to be a burning bush. It's native to a more southwestern part of Texas but does well in our yard. The first winter after it was planted it froze to the ground and I thought it was dead. But by summer it had come back.