I thought it might be time for a performance update.
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All the seed was planted with the drill shortly after I delivered it to our farmer pal, Vernon, on the third week of May. He sprayed all the areas of planting with Round-up about a week earlier. This is all very new to me, so for those of similar background, here's a pic of what the soil looks like after planting with a drill.


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For all the rain we had last fall, winter, and early spring, it seems the balance of this year will be just the opposite. We have received very little rain since planting. Not only has the pond level receded, but D-ski and I were getting nervous about losing our seed investment. Vernon assured us to be patient; that it is not lost.
Well, it's the beginning of August; about 10 weeks later. We have gotten some intermittent rains, though nothing to rave about. We did start to see some flower plants (no blooms) about 6 - 7 weeks in. Vernon was concerned about the grasses coming in. The 2 larger planting zones (field #1 & #2) were being over-run with foxtail. They have both been mowed twice, this last time to catch them before they went to seed. It bugged us to mow down our first emerging flower blooms, but they seemed to rebound well.
Today, the precip continues to be slight. The areas that receive all-day sun are no doubt the best producers. Norm Kopecky warned of the partial shade areas. He is correct. Very little growth.
We are having some fun, tho, trying to identify these different plants as they emerge. It seems that every weekend, when we return, a new unusual plant stem is pushing upward as we try to decide if it's just another weed, or what. The following pics are selective. They are taken in the better (sunny) zones. We are seeing blooms of well less than half of the flower species that we planted. We continue to identify new plants, so the anticipation of new blooms is kinda cool.
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Field #2, the long narrow driveway entrance. Tree Swallows made this one their home.

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At the dam. Although sparse, it is better than the pic exhibits.

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the perimeter road as it winds off to the left and across the dam

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Oh yeah, and the butterfly action is way up.