Summer in bloom (mid-July 2018)

Moon flowers, sunflowers, zennias, and wildflowers are attracting bees and butterflies.  Some years we see monk parrots among the sunflowers; not this year.  They used to nest about 10 blocks away in the light standards at UT's intramural fields.  But when the fields were renovated last year, the light standards (and nests) were removed.  The parrots have relocated to cell phone towers and other high places.  They are native to Argentina; the original Austin pair escaped from an RV park in the 1970s and made themselves at home.   I'm picturing a little parrot with a guitar and boots. 

Remember this poor bug-eaten moon flower, struggling to survive in May?

A couple of months and daily watering later . . . . ta-da!