Every Nook And Cranny

It is that time of year. The Ageratina altissima covers the ridge top garden and beyond, way beyond. If it wasn't a native plant it would quickly be called a noxious invasive species. But we don't say that about plants that were here before the pilgrims. It may have a more polite description, like freely self sowing or rambunctious.

We like it and so do many pollinators, so it isn't a nuisance and there is never a need to worry about sacrificing some of it for more elbow room.



Closeup, the individual flowers are like tiny honeycombs. It takes a camera and a computer for me to be able to see that.



In other matters I scan every joint of every tile and every section of the 1 x 1 glass tiles a couple of times with my best magnifying reading glasses. Water is the enemy and I do not want any water sneaking behind the tiles. There must not be even the slightest hole in the grout. So far so good.

The back wall is now done and the grout made a big improvement in hiding the grout line deviations in the top left of the right side corner. It blends in much better now.



I completed another little side chore that has been nagging at me since last year. The sewer line as it exits the cozy cabin was given its final link of stove pipe to connect the pipe to the wood box insulating the drain lines. It was riveted on, filled with spray foam and then caulked on top of that when it dried. I don't want any water and more importantly, I don't want any varmints sneaking in to the cabin through tiny holes.

There is insulation between the stove pipe covering and the actual PVC pipe of the sewer line, but I have my doubts about its abilities to withstand freezing the water as it runs through when the temperatures drop way way down and stay there for days on end. It will be easy enough to wrap it with an electric heating pad should that happen. We'll see. If the drains don't drain in a severe cold spell, I'll know where to start looking.



The goldenrod is just as rambunctious as the Ageratina. It favors the sun more, so they don't really compete with each other. Or it could be found that the goldenrod just out competes the Ageratina in sunnier conditions.



This Japanese Anemone is looking to conquer some territory too. Even though it now covers much less ground, its foreign heritage means it is given less leeway by some. We like it. It does quite well in filtered light and is a wonderful perennial for end of summer and early fall blooms.



We have been in a sunny dry spell for most of the last two weeks. The sun shines brightly all day, but there has been a distinct change in its flavor.



It takes longer to come out in the morning and warm things up. And my those trees must have grown twenty feet over the summer. Their shadows have crept over the house and deck for most of the morning now.