Look what the rains brought! Big bodacious Rain Lilies! Here in Dallas, we’ve had two torrential rain storms in less than a week, and these lilies respond only to rainfall and not hand watering.
On a sad note, you may notice large amounts of pollen on their petals. Normally the local bees would have made off with most of it, but most of them have been killed off. Because of a huge mosquito problem and a bad outbreak of the West Nile virus, the city officials have responded by spraying pesticides two to three times a week up and down our streets and alleys for the last two months. The mosquito population has not diminished nor have the cases of West Nile virus, but the bees, butterflies, and Anolis lizards have, for the most part, completely disappeared. This time last year, my gardens were loaded with these beneficial creatures. And to make things worse, the county has added aerial attacks. Four planes have been making rounds for the last five days dumping a pesticide called Duet, and the second round begins tonight. My neighborhood has just been issued a “Red” alert, informing us to take cover from 8:30 pm to midnight.