suddenly with free time

I've been a bit at loose ends since school started.  Especially in the morning and especially while I've waited for Pook's bus to come.  I find myself dawdling in the front yard, so I deadhead an old day lily, then another and another. Finally I head up to the house to check the time to see if I should drive the poor child. I hesitate to do it because the driver needs all the kids if she's ever going to get the route settled. So instead I grab the pruning shears. The plants have enjoyed the attention. I shouldn't have been shocked at the number of weeds out there.

This picture is of dead things, but really there is quite a bit alive at this point of the summer. It has been a weird August. The summer started out so, so hot and dry. I believe my new creeping azalea had a lifetime guarantee, so I'm going to check into replacing it. The rest made it through that hot period ok only to then get rained on so regularly that some of it has rotted, such as the poor lamb's ear (best seen here by the lamp and hose but also the rest of the non-green area in this pic) Fortunately, I think they will rebound next spring.

This is part of the yellow and black family of flowers in my yard. I suppose they're all in the Rudbeckia family but the size of the flowers and overall plant vary. I should probably identify them, because they're clearly different, but I haven't. I'm just enjoying their happy color. This first button nosed bloom with short, rounded petals is with purple coneflowers and lantana usually. Neither of them is blooming much this year.

The longer petaled blooms seen in the second photo are near the daisies. Both of those combinations are wonderful. I should encourage all three to mingle. Sorry I couldn't have them all this year. The daisies are so thick that I can tell I need to dig some out to move them. I've been deadheading, so I hope they'll rebloom this fall.

 The third yellow petaled flower has a coneflower button nose, longer, larger petals and twice the height (about six feet tall).

I found three of these friends at the daisies the other day. The rain had left their webs looking beautiful in the morning light and is the reason I went for the camera and caught all these pictures in the first place.  I pruned away dead daisies but I watched this lady and tried to avoid disturbing her web.