Oh Well

      Two days ago I was in a clean up mode over at the park garden.  I was proud of myself for cutting down a lot of seed stalks, including the various blue colored chicories that had seemingly run their course.  After all, I probably still had seeds in packets and had never tried to store those little seeds.  All of this done early in the morning before the sun was very high in the sky.  So the barren seed stalks went onto the compost pile.
      Lo and behold, when I hit the park yesterday morning, I was surprised to find this sight on top of the pile:

       I think I won the "Prettiest Compost Pile of the Day" award with this one.  So I should be a little more observant next time to make sure a plant has run its course before whacking off its top.  These little blue flowers do attract a myriad of small bees and wasps, many assumed to be beneficial.
       I have always admired the wild blue corn flowers that grow freely by many roadsides, but had never been successful getting them to transplant to my home garden.  The red stemmed dandelion is actually a chicory, and in addition to its beauty and delicious edibility, puts on this nice flower show when it is done.  I expect to get more greens to regrow from the base as the weather cools in the fall.