And then fall is back in again.

 Such is the weather this time of year. Santa Ana's leave and bring in cloudy cooler weather and then hot weather may be back again in a week or so. Beautiful clouds outside though and since it's cooler, not going to water or check on the garden. Though here are some photos from yesterday and others I forgot I had.

Bean sprout is putting out an other set of leaves, and the wild grass behind it is coming in as well. We usually get greening in the fall through winter and spring again. There are several tomatoes still, I picked the topmost one because it was cracked horridly on the shoulder and just tossed it in the trash. This was the day it hit about 85 or 90 outside and you can see how dry the soil is. Watered well and the remaining tomatoes will likely crack as well. The soil dries out very quickly and I should have been more diligent on watering every day but oh well, live and learn.

 

 If you can see the leaf difference you can see a problem. Those larger leaves in the middle are of a mulberry tree. How it got there I have no idea but it most certainly does not belong mixed in with a trumpet vine. Next to a pergola and patio. The problem is, because it is a tree and it is that tall already, the roots have completely gone everywhere it can. That means it can't be pulled out. In  order for it to be eradicated, it has to be dug out or at least cut off below the ground level and even that is not a guarantee. These are the trees that are most often 'pollarded', a form of pruning that takes the branches down to the main until there is only growth points left. Here are some examples:

 

Now the original reason why it was done was to promote lots of new growth for fruit production. Most of the mulberry trees in cities are the fruitless variety but the practice is used for maximum shade in the summer.

It does need some pruning in the winter but I absolutely abhor pollarding on any tree. It's ugly in the winter and the only thing I can think of that would need it is a grape vine and even then it's not considered pollarding.

Meanwhile off the soapbox....

If this weather trend continues for another week I will definitely be getting some compost and digging it into the garden. Still not sure what to put in the shady south bed that I will eat or use. Actually, maybe a flower bed isn't a bad idea, put some bulbs in there, some annuals on top and by the time the sun makes its way back up northward they'll be sprouting. Some pansies, stock, snapdragons..three mainstays of the fall and spring garden here. Oh to have a wonderful bulb flower bed for the spring and summer... dahlias, gladiolas, maybe some bearded iris. Sigh.

It's very breezy outside and clouds are moving to the south which means yes indeed, weather change is ere and possibly another coming behind it. According the the weather app it won't get out of the 70's for the next week. Yay!! Some sun but some clouds too so perfect fall weather to get out and dig in the garden, pull some plants and do some work in fresh air.

Right. Or sit at the computer and look for a job.