Birches

Another cool, dry day in mid August.  Quite surprising.

The paper birches have never done very well.  In a wet spring they put out too many leaves, then when it gets dry and hot in summer they self-prune and shed the excess.  It looks terrible.

This one is the worst, but all three look awful, even though cooler temperatures have returned and we had good rain a few days ago.  Not sure what to do.  They are too big to take out, the bark is lovely in winter.  Replace them someday?  Dunno.

I do love the red pops of lobelia in the distance in Meadow's Edge and must get more!

 

On another note: I haven;t been getting any more voles in all the spring traps I set out, so I picked them up today.  Managed to spring a plastic snap-trap on my finger.  Idiot.  It hurt.