Some Lupine Seedlings Survive Until The Start of the Rainy Season; Most Do Not

 I made a quick survey of the lupine patches in the afternoon summer heat today.

I stopped first at the second planting area and found eight of the 12 seedlings that emerged this year still alive, though some were less robust looking than others.

I headed north to the call of a Northern Bobwhite somewhere in the fencerow. It was the first one I had heard there in a few years.

The fire lane appeared to have been recently mowed, exposing a lot of small debris that I will deal with in cooler parts of the day.

I finally reached the first planting area and found one lone surviving seedling among the 64 I had flagged earlier this year. It was at the northern edge of the east-west path.

I will come back later to remove the flags/

I was thinking I had kept numbers in previous years, but apparently I did not.

A quick word about June weather.

The National Weather Service, this was the fourth warmest June on record with an average temperature of 84.4 F. Official rainfall was 7.4 inches, but at my house,, which is about halfway between Gilbert Field and the preserve, I recorded 8.9 inches.