Of weeds and pests

A day of weeding in the garden yesterday. Mostly crabgrass – but it’s getting easier to spot now it’s flowering because the flowers (and I use the term loosely because it’s a grass) lay flat to the ground, rather than erect, like the little bluestem.

Some weeds have fibrous roots, which spread out. Others have taproots, which go down deep. With a sense of pride, here’s a dandelion I pulled yesterday:

Meanwhile, other pests were around last week, including this deer, which was resting on the lawn behind the house while its mother ate at the back of the post office.

Cute? Yes? Eating my plants? Some of them. While most of the plants are fine, the asters have suffered, which will reduce their ability to flower this month and next. It’s a species I will have to rethink.