Cemetery Cactus and Sunflower

I just received my cactus goodie package from Claude at Random Rants and Prickly Plants. I found two pots and quickly planted two of the Esobania missourieusis. The third one went into the miniature cactus garden. Claude rescued the Esobania offsets from a cemetery after they mowed down the main part of the cactus.

The Cleistocactus winteri was planted in a larger pot. I have them on my east patio out of the intense summer sun. Thanks, Claude, for trusting me to keep them alive!

Newest sunflower to open. It's really heating up here, has been over 105 already! I'm in a mini depression thinking about the long hot summer ahead of us!! Turr Tull has not come out and I think he might have gotten out of the yard during the deck fix-up or ??? There isn't any way of checking into his hole as it is a small opening and goes pretty far back.

But today, I will find out the gender of my first great-grandchild, and the anticipation is raising my mood to the cheerful side! We tried the wedding ring test a few times and it is showing a boy! To do this, a wedding ring is attached to a thread and held dangling over the belly of the mom to be while she is lying prone. If the ring swings in a strong circular motion, it's supposed to be a girl, and if it moves in a to and fro motion like a pendulum, it will be a boy. My many years of expertise and my record 0f 99 percent accuracy on this test is on the line, so I'm just a little tense! I know this is just an old wives' tale, but it's harmless. It doesn't take the place of medical tests, but it is sort of a family tradition for us.