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August and I were out in the yard chatting with our neighbor when we witnessed a large group of crows in pursuit of a larger bird which looked to us like an owl. Could it be?
Inside, Brandon heard the commotion, ran out and jumped into his jeep to follow them where they appeared to have flown a few streets over, verifying the barn owl sighting.
Hooray for spontaneous early morning events!
Turk's cap (Malvaviscus drummondii 'Pam Puryear') was one of the first items I planted at our house when we moved in around this time last year.
Many Texans are familiar with the red version, but the pink flowers provide a lovely contrast to our house's blue-green trim.
Blooming happily through summer and fall, it tolerates the morning shade and the scorching afternoon sun that this location dictates.
Through our living room window, we enjoyed watching hummingbirds visit the flowers during the miserable summer when we spent much of our time indoors.
Since it works so well in difficult locations like I described, I somewhat randomly added another on the side of the house in spring.
With my background in art, I'm ashamed at how long it takes for me to grasp and utilize basic design concepts, such as repetition.
This fall, finally realizing that the lovely effects of this plant would have more impact if repeated all along the front of the house, I added another in this bed, one on the other side and one near a window in back.
In another design blunder, I had orignally placed this Chinese fringe flower (Loropetulum chinense 'Plum Delight') on the other side of the walk where I immediately feared it getting too large.
It's possible that it would've never occured to me to move it to the giant gap on this side unless my dear husband hadn't suggested it! Thank you, Brandon.
