Summer officially started two weeks ago but it hasn’t really settled in yet. While the temperatures have been creeping higher, they aren’t unbearable yet. That may foretell for a long, hot August.

We’re still getting more than our usual allotment of rain. May brought an incredible 13.1 inches to my rain gauge. That was too much in too short a time. It lead to the devastating Memorial Day Flood of the Blanco River. For June, I recorded 5.0 inches in our backyard. That’s a nice amount and everything is still green and attractive. Normally, by summer time, the landscape is turning brown.

I drove by a tall, lush vine, with large blue flowers which immediately caught my eye. I passed it, but drove around the block and came back to take pictures. The plant is a Morning Glory (Ipomoea indica). There are many species of morning glory, but I think this one is identified correctly. The vine was over 12 feet tall and completely covered a fence. The blooms are about 5 or 6 inches in diameter.

The plant is not a native, but it does well here. It’s unclear where it originated but it exists in the wild in many tropical regions. I will frequently recommend native plants over non-natives, but this one is very striking, but fairly aggressive. Please be careful if you use it in your landscape. It certainly makes a beautiful addition to the summer scenery.

Morning Glory

Here’s another shot of a group of back-lit flowers.

Morning Glory

I drove into the country east of I-35. I’m familiar with these backroads from bike riding, so I wanted to see them again. I’ve seen cotton fields at this location and I assume that’s what this is. The field is cultivated with long rows of uniform plants. In the distant background you can see red/brown fields of sorghum.

The sky was threatening rain. I guess it will be a wet summer.

Cotton Field