Collection Agencies Harrassment SOS

This is my second SOS post regarding the harrassment by so-called Collection Agencies. Previously, on September 17, 2011, I wrote an article, Collection Agencies Harrassment SOS. At that time, I detailed numerous collection agencies who were calling for a particular person who had my phone number before me.

It was a tedious experience trying to get all these different agencies to stop harrassing me. Well, it seems another company has gotten the collection record for the latest person who used to have my phone number.

Julie Ann Brady and her cat Boots give a lick!

I keep getting calls from 800-580-8615; despite having asked them to remove me from their list, they persist in calling me. Today, at approximately 2pm EDT, I called 800-580-8615 and finally got a person who didn't seem pleased to be talking with me. When I told her I was not the person they were seeking and please remove my number, she said OK. I then asked her what number are you removing. She said, "we have your number." Yeah, I have yours too!!

I also took some time to send a message through Syncom's online contact form asking them to remove my phone number. The form wouldn't go through without my email; now I'll probably be getting spam emails!

There is a Chanel S. person in Jacksonville, Florida that is being sought by Synergetic Communication (Syncom) -- the latest agency who keeps calling me. I had already told one of the previous people calling me from Syncom to please remove my phone number from their calling list since I was not Chanel S. nor did I know who she is. And, I don't know anybody that knows her! But, I can Google that woman and probably tell you where to find her!

I just went back through my caller ID to chart how many times Syncom has called me from 1-800-580-8615:

1. 4/30/14 - 1:11pm
2. 4/25/14 - 10:50am
3. 4/22/14 - 12:36pm
4. 4/17/14 - 7:50pm
5. 4/16/14 - 7:37pm
6. 4/15/14 - 4:13pm
7. 4/14/14 - 4:54pm
8. 4/11/14 - 12:10pm

There are two other phone numbers that have called me a couple of times in one day:

1. 386-233-3552
2. 630-318-4762

I'm not sure which of those numbers is connected to the strange message that you hear when you answer the phone; "please hold for an important message." And, then you will hold and hold and hold waiting for a live person to come on the line.

Have you been hounded by collection agencies phone calls meant for somebody else? Oh boy, I have had more than one person's share! I'm thinking it is about time that I got a phone call telling me I won the Publisher's Clearing House $2 Million Sweepstakes with $10,000 a month for life!

UPDATE: At 3:07pm on April 30, 2014, I received a reply email to my online contact submission:

Good Afternoon Julie,

We do apologize for the inconvenience, We have removed your number and you will no longer receive calls from our agency.

Thank you,
Rachel Y. Sutton
Invoicing Specialist & Reports Coordinator
Synergetic Communication INC.
Phone: (866) 793-5401

Let's see if I get any more phone calls from Syncom!

Florida Scarlet Snake and Other Florida Snakes

Living in Jacksonville, Florida, I have become more accustomed to finding snakes in my yard. I'm careful when I see one, but not as afraid of them as I used to be. Well, except for the large water moccasin that came through the backyard of my previous home! That was one big snake.

Florida Scarlet Snake aka Cemophora coccinea
Photographed by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

It was around 8am this morning that I was out in my back yard picking up leaves and pulling weeds. I came around the side of my house to the A/C unit. The black tom cat was sitting on top resting. Under the tree to the right of the unit I spied the snake. It was the underbelly that I saw first.

Florida Scarlet Snake aka Cemophora coccinea
Photographed by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

When I went to pick up the snake, that's when I turned it over to see the colorful body. As I'd never seen one of these snakes up close, I wasn't sure if this was a venomous snake. It surely didn't look alive, so I wasn't as worried as I might have been. I shot a few pictures and then came inside to Google it.

FLORIDA SCARLET SNAKE IDENTIFICATION

I came upon an excellent resource from the University of Florida, on the Florida Scarlet Snake. Quoting their snake comparison information as I couldn't of said it better myself:

The Scarlet Snake is often confused with the Scarlet Kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides) and Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius), but it is easy to distinguish between these three species look-alike species. The Scarlet Kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides) possesses colored rings that go entirely around its belly. The Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius) has a rounded black snout and its red rings touch its yellow rings.

To confirm that this was a Florida Scarlet Snake, I reached out to my ex who was a Science Teacher at Fletcher High School in Jacksonville Beach many years ago. He got back to me fairly quickly with his confirmation:

Based on the red tip pointy nose and the white underside it is a Scarlet Snake. The Scarlet King Snake has the color all around. Nice link in the article on telling the diff of those and the Coral Snake. Did the cats get him?

He graduated from the University of Florida, so I thought that was the perfect resource for identification of the snake.

WHAT ABOUT THIS SNAKE?

There are a lot of these snakes in Florida, but this is the first one I've ever seen in my twenty-some years! That's part of their nature; i.e., you don't usually see them because they have a secretive nature.

• This snake lives mostly underground or under logs or tree bark.
• It is nocturnal.
• It eats other small snakes, or lizards, rodents, and reptile eggs which it enjoys sucking out the insides!
• It is an egg-laying critter!
• Breeding occurs during the months of March through June.
• During the months of May through August, the female will lay 3-8 eggs. Gosh, I wonder where the rest of those snakes are??
• Newborns are 5-6 inches long. This snake seems to be close to 8 inches. I wonder where the parents are??

Did you know that there are over 2,000 species of snakes? The Snake Almanac is a great resource for identifying snakes. Did you know that there is actually a snake that can fly? Or that there is a snake that plays dead rather like an opossum?

OTHER SNAKES I HAVE SEEN

My yard backs up to a drainage ditch and on the one side is a natural area that is like a little forest. I've seen more black racers zipping through my back yard then any other snake. In fact, I spotted this black racer snake actually racing across my back yard heading for the neighbor's yard.

Black Racer Snake Photographed by JaguarJulie Ann Brady
Photo Taken: March 15, 2012

That's easily the largest of any black racers I have seen. Once in a while, I would see much smaller ones zipping down the side of my house. However, since I have done a lot of pruning of bushes around the sides of the house, I don't usually see these guys like I used to -- they've been hanging out at the neighbor's!

Less than two weeks after spotting that guy in my back yard, I came upon another snake in my front yard bushes.

Common Garter Snake Photographed by JaguarJulie Ann Brady
Photo Taken: March 26, 2012

What's curious about that Common Garter Snake? I thought it was my hose! I actually have my garden hose rolled up near the area where I saw this guy. For a garter snake, I found it curious just how large and long this guy is! I took my picture and then left him alone.

WATER MOCCASIN!!!

It was around lunch time on a warm day in September 2010. In the back yard of my Deercreek Country Club home, I saw what looked like stake or post in the ground. I thought that was odd. When I went to take a second look, the post was gone ... but now I saw that it was indeed a large snake.

Water Moccasin Snake Photographed by JaguarJulie Ann Brady
Photo Taken: September 21, 2010

It was a "snake in the grass" like no snake I had ever seen. I was feeding some of the cats from the feral colony on our back patio. As this water moccasin started to slither closer to the house, a couple of the cats were trying to challenge the snake! In particular, Tigger, one of the male tabby cats was the bravest. I got a broom and shooed the cats away from the snake.

Water Moccasin Snake Photographed by JaguarJulie Ann Brady
Photo Taken: September 21, 2010

As the water moccasin lifted its head out of the grass, I believed he was sniffing out his next meal. Before he made it to the side of our house, he stopped and picked something up out of the grass.

Water Moccasin Snake Photographed by JaguarJulie Ann Brady
Photo Taken: September 21, 2010

In the last photo that I snapped of the snake, it looked like he was pretty wide around the middle. Eventually, he continued on down the side of the house to a large hole under the bushes at the front of the house. Luckily, that was the last time I spotted that snake.

RED RAT SNAKE!

Talk about a colorful snake -- it is the red rat snake. He was a big one; or maybe it was a she. He headed up my Drake Chinese Elm tree in my front yard. How do you get rid of that red rat snake? Ah, I cut down that tree!!

Yellow Slime Mold in Sunflower Garden

This morning, the mold of the day is YELLOW! It is a yellow slime mold that I found in my sunflower garden.

Yellow Slime Mold aka Dog Vomit aka Physarum polycephalum
In My Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie

I previously have written about the pink slime mold that I was seeing a lot of in the sunflower garden. Before I starting seeing so much of the pink stuff, I had seen the yellow slime mold a few consecutive mornings.

Then, it was a couple weeks of the pink stuff before I saw the yellow return. Kind of strange, you know?

Yellow Slime Mold aka Dog Vomit aka Physarum polycephalum
In My Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie

There's another picture of the yellow slime mold. It really does look like dog or cat vomit! Looking to the lower left of the picture, there is a lighter spot with a hint of yellow ... I think that is more of it in a another stage of development.

YELLOW IS THE MOST COMMON

"One of the most commonly encountered slime molds is the yellow Physarum polycephalum." ~ Slime molds according to Wikipedia.

THE PLASMODIUM

Did you know that the plasmodium is "the active, streaming form of slime molds." I believe that is the phase you are seeing in the two pictures. "It is during this stage that the organism searches for food. The plasmodium surrounds its food and secretes enzymes to digest it." ~ Physarum polycephalum according to Wikipedia.

I wonder if there is some correlation between the appearance and feeding patters of the pink slime mold vs. the yellow slime mold? Thus far, I've not seen both of those at the same time in my sunflower garden. It's either one or the other!

Pink Slime Mold in Sunflower Garden

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been noticing something very strange in my sunflower garden. It's a nice color -- light to medium pink -- but if you squish it, it oozes hot pink goo or slime! Googling "pink mold in garden" I happened to find out it is a slime mold that supposedly inspired some science fiction movies years ago. How about that?

MY PINK SLIME MOLD

Pink Slime Mold aka Wolf's Milk aka Lycogala Epidendrum
In My Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie

Googling further, I next found it referred to as "Wolf's Milk." That seemed to be a strange reference. Finally, I hit upon the scientific name of Lycogala epidendrum.

Checking the description on Wikipedia, it says,

During the plasmodial stage, individuals are reddish in color, but these are almost never seen. When conditions change, the individuals aggregate by means of chemical signaling to form an aethalium, or fruiting body. These appear as small cushion-like blobs measuring about 3–15 millimetres in diameter.

Little "cushion-like blobs!" I couldn't have described it better myself.

Pink Slime Mold aka Wolf's Milk aka Lycogala Epidendrum
In My Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie

The color of the "cushion-like blobs" can vary from pinkish-grey to yellowish-brown or greenish-black. And, when they mature, the blobs can be more of a brownish color. I actually saw some brownish ones adjacent to the pink; however, I didn't take a photo of that!

Pink Slime Mold aka Wolf's Milk aka Lycogala Epidendrum
In My Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie

I've found the pink slime mold several mornings -- perhaps 7 times? Each time, I've put on my yellow rubber gloves. Using my garden steak knife, I gently scoop under the blobs and put them in a plastic bag. I seal up the bag and throw it in the trash. When I am not careful, I have squished some of it to see that darker pink gooey paste.

Pink Slime Mold aka Wolf's Milk aka Lycogala Epidendrum
In My Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie

Ack!! I was wondering, "what should I be doing with that stuff?"

WHAT TO DO WITH PINK SLIME MOLD

The Garden Detective, Jessica Damiano says,

It's harmless and will go away on its own, but if you want to eliminate it, just turn over the mulch or scoop up the blobs, bag them and toss them in the trash.

How about that? I guess I had a good intuitive instinct in that I was scooping up the blobs, bagging them, and then tossing the knotted bag in my trash! Now I am wondering about all those little white plastic bags of bagged blobs!!

There's another gal with a good sense of humor in that she describes this stuff as looking like "dog vomit." I was actually thinking that the orange tabby left me some "cat vomit!" Nana Mejia, Horticulture Agent, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension says,

The best approach to controlling these unique organisms is to try changing the environment in which they grow. Slime molds and other such organisms will not grow well in dry situations.

Learn more about these unique blobs in Myxomycetes: A Handbook of Slime Molds.

I think you're probably in the mood for Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack [Online Game Code].

Have you ever experienced pink slime mold aka Lycogala epidendrum? Oh, please share! Show me your pictures!

DIFFERENT LOOKING SLIME MOLD

Another Pink Slime Mold Found in My Front Yard Garden ~ JaguarJulie

I found another type of pink slime mold in my front yard garden, in the black mulch. I've seen it there a couple of times. It has never looked like the pink slime mold little blobs that have appeared in my sunflower garden. Now, I really think this looks like "dog vomit" or "cat vomit." I found a page of slime mold photos at Wayne's Word that identifies something similar looking as of the Kingdom Protista, Division Myxomycota.

ANOTHER COLOR OF SLIME MOLD

I knew if I was patient that I would see that other color of slime mold in my sunflower garden. On Sunday, April 27th, I was up earlier than usual - and that would explain why the flash went off on my camera as I tried to capture proof of yet another color!

Brown / Gray Slime Mold aka Wolf's Milk aka Lycogala Epidendrum
In My Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie

Take a look towards the top of that picture. The cushion-like blobs are tinier than the pink at the bottom of the photo. The colors are grays and browns; I've seen the color of hombre used for this - I think this might be that!

Sunflower Plants at 24 Inches Tall

Today I did my measurements of the sunflower plants rather than waiting for Sunday. Good thing I did that as the tallest height of the sunflower plants is now 24 inches tall. How about that? Two feet of growth in 43 days.

Sunflower Plant Height of Twenty-Four Inches at 43 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 26, 2014

I did my height measurement at the same spot I've been measuring the plants for the past 4 weeks. Then, I went to the second row in to check the height there.

Sunflower Plant Height of Twenty-Four Inches at 43 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 26, 2014

How about that? I found there had been a little extra growth over the past week in that second row. I found the tallest height also at 24 inches - although it looks like 25 inches.

SUNFLOWER WIDTH MEASUREMENTS

I didn't do a width measurement of those first two tallest sunflower plants as I noticed in the fourth row that there was a really leafy plant.

Sunflower Plant Width of Eighteen Inches at 43 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 26, 2014

There was a uniform measurement on that plant of eighteen inches across and eighteen inches wide.

Sunflower Plant Width of Eighteen Inches at 43 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 26, 2014

I will need to check out the widest measurement on some of the individual leaves as they are looking pretty substantial in size. Take a look at the overall plant that is the widest.

THE WIDEST SUNFLOWER PLANT

Sunflower Plant Width of Eighteen by Eighteen Inches at 43 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 26, 2014

Sunflower Plant Width of Eighteen by Eighteen Inches at 43 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 26, 2014

You might think that the widest sunflower plant is the wildest! In some regards, maybe, as this plant is a bit different from the others. I would say it is from one of the organic sunflower seeds! In last year's garden the third row planted were 2 packets of Burpee Organic Sunflower Seeds. Those plants were not like the others.

On the organic sunflower plants, I found the leaves were larger and much more defined. They also seemed a little "furry" with choppy or zig-zaggy edges. Thankfully, the stalks on the organic plants were much thicker and sturdier, to support those extra leaves!

MY SECOND SUNFLOWER GARDEN

Sunflower Plant Height of Twenty-Four Inches at 43 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 26, 2014

There is that shot of the sunflower plants next to the decorative edging. If you compare this picture with the previous week's sunflower garden picture against the decorative edging, you can appreciate all the extra growth.

My second sunflower garden has been shaping up to be much better than my first sunflower garden of one year ago! That first flower garden had only three rows of plants. This second flower garden has four rows and more than double the plants!

TAKE A LOOK AT MY SUNFLOWER GARDEN

My Second Sunflower Garden at 43 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 26, 2014

In my May 17, 2013 blog post, I did a bit of time-lapse photography with that above picture, charting the growth of my first sunflower garden.

ADDING PLANT FOOD

Over the course of the past 43 days, after planting the sunflower seeds with Sta-Green Potting Mix, I added more of that potting mix to the four rows on three different occasions. Then, on the 42nd day, I picked up a bag of Kgro All-Purpose 24-8-16 Water Soluble Plant Food. I mixed up the blue crystals in my large green 5 liter watering can for four different applications, one per row.

This year's garden is a comparison of sorts to my first garden. Last year, it was all Miracle-Gro -- potting mix and Miracle-Gro 1001233 All Purpose 24-8-16 Plant Food. We will be comparing Miracle-Gro to the "other" products; i.e. Sta-Green and Kgro!

CONSIDER ORGANIC SUNFLOWER SEEDS

I was just shopping on Amazon for Burpee Organic Sunflower Seeds and found two products which I would want to try:

1. Burpee Sunflower Mammoth 60740 (Yellow) 20 Organic Seeds
2. Sunflower Seeds, Autumn Beauty Mix Organic 1 Pkt. (30 seeds)

Sunflower Plants at Thirty Seven Days

Happy Easter Everyone! I awakened to an overcast and misty Easter Sunday. Time to do the measurements! As of April 20th, it is over a month of history on my second sunflower garden. Today is the thirty seventh day.

Last night was the first night in several weeks that I didn't put down the protective covering of the weed barrier cloth. For 21 consecutive nights and days, I put down and picked up the protective covering. Without the use of the landscape cloth, I wasn't sure if there would be evidence of critters digging in the sunflower garden. Luckily, those digging critters stayed away on Easter Sunday, although I detected some evidence of a mole moving around under the garden.

Sunflower Garden Four Rows of Plants at 37 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 20, 2014

Check out those four rows of sunflower plants in my garden! Compare those to the sunflower seedlings and plants at thirty days. I think you can see a lot of growth in the past seven days.

SUNFLOWER PLANT MEASUREMENTS

My first measurement was to check the height. One week ago, at 30 days, the height was twelve inches. And, two weeks ago, at 23 days, the height was just six inches. How tall would the sunflower plant be at 37 days? Well, give a look ...

Sunflower Plant Height of Eighteen Inches at 37 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 20, 2014

That's pretty consistent growth in the height which has been averaging six inches per every 7 days. I think we will start to see a bit more growth from this point forward.

Sunflower Plant Width of Eleven Inches at 37 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 20, 2014

The sunflower leaf width measured eleven inches, an increase of only two inches from one week ago. However, we are seeing a lot more fullness with the leaf spread and more leaves being added to the sunflower stems.

Sunflower Plant Width of Thirteen Inches at 37 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 20, 2014

Our measurement on the width across came in at thirteen inches, an increase of three inches from one week ago. The leaves are really filling out and starting to look like traditional sunflower leaves.

Comparing our three measurements:

1. 23 days - 6 inches wide by 7 inches across by 6 inches tall
2. 30 days - 9 inches wide by 10 inches across by 12 inches tall
3. 37 days - 11 inches wide by 13 inches across by 18 inches tall

SUNFLOWER PLANTS TALLER THAN DECORATIVE EDGING!

You get a more impressive idea of how the sunflower plants are growing when you take a shot next to the metal decorative edging.

Sunflower Plant Height of Eighteen Inches at 37 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 20, 2014

It sure is rewarding growing your own flower garden from seed. When I contemplated my second sunflower garden, I didn't know what to expect. I have to say that I am extremely THRILLED at the "performance" of the Burpee Sunflower Seeds. I don't know that I would try any other brand.

Cat in My Sunflower Garden

This morning when I came outside to remove the protective landscape fabric from my sunflower garden, I couldn't believe my eyes! It was a cat in my sunflower garden, sitting there quite proudly. I normally feed the orange male tabby cat early in the morning. Lately, I have had to diplomatically separate the food dishes to keep the black male cat from chewing on the orange tabby.

Orange Male Tabby Cat Sitting in my Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 14, 2014

For the most part, the tabby missed sitting entirely on the fourth row of tiny sunflower seedlings. The previous morning, after removing the landscape fabric, I found the top of a seedling snapped off in that fourth row. Now I know that it was the cat!

CAT IN MY SUNFLOWER GARDEN - 2013

This wasn't the first time that I found that orange tabby in my sunflower garden. I would find him sitting amongst the sunflower plants early in the morning waiting on his feeding.

Orange Male Tabby Cat Sitting in my Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: Spring 2013

What is curious is that the tabby cat was sitting in about the same location in 2013! But, back then, the plants were bigger.

Orange Male Tabby Cat Walking Through my Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: Spring 2013

In the 2013 sunflower garden, there were only three rows of plants and they were spaced further apart. Also, there were less plants than this year's garden. Back then, I had no issues with digging critters, so I wasn't using the protective landscape fabric like I am in my 2014 garden!

Orange Male Tabby Cat Sitting in my Sunflower Garden ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: Spring 2013

Ah, look at that sweet face? In the Spring of 2013, this tabby was looking a LOT better than this year. The black male cat has been chewing on this cat like crazy!

Thinking positively, I can only hope that the tabby doesn't sit on too many of my tiny plants. At the moment, I am doing my best to protect the garden from digging critters. You'd think that tabby would be around to scare them off?

Well, might as well celebrate the cat in my sunflower garden. That got me thinking ... what if I place some cat sculptural garden statues in and around my flower garden. Would that perhaps discourage the tabby from sitting there? Hey, maybe it would also scare off those digging critters?

Sunflower Seedlings at Thirty Days

It has been a month of thirty days since planting my flower garden of four rows of sunflower seeds. Time for measuring the sunflower seedlings. By now, I think I can call some of these sunflower plants as they seem a little large to be called "seedlings."

Sunflower Garden Four Rows of Seedlings at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014

I captured a photo of the sunflower garden from the other direction. You can see a lot of growth in the two rows on the left. There are plenty of sunflower seedlings in the two rows on the right - much more than last year's crop!

SUNFLOWER SEEDLING MEASUREMENTS

Our first measurement of the sunflower seedlings was taken one week ago, April 6th, at twenty-three days. At that time, the measurement stood at 6 inches wide by 7 inches across by 6 inches tall.

Sunflower Seedling Height of Twelve Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014

With the tallest sunflower seedling reaching a height of twelve inches, or one foot, at thirty days, I am confident we can now call this a sunflower plant! That is double the growth in one week or seven days time! Not bad.

Sunflower Seedling Width of Nine Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014

The sunflower seedling I measured had a leaf width of some nine inches. At least the height was no surpassing the width.

Sunflower Seedling Width of Ten Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014

The second measurement on the leaf width across came in at ten inches. The leaf clusters wide and across are still tracking pretty uniform measurements and growth.

Comparing our two measurements:

1. 23 days - 6 inches wide by 7 inches across by 6 inches tall
2. 30 days - 9 inches wide by 10 inches across by 12 inches tall

It is curious to note that the width and across measurement both increased by 3 inches whilst the height increased by 6 inches - that is two to one growth on the height to width of the sunflower seedlings.

SUNFLOWER SEEDLINGS AS TALL AS THE DECORATIVE EDGING!

Sunflower Seedling Height of Twelve Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014

This past week, I replanted the sunflower seedlings from the three backup pots into the four rows in my sunflower garden. I filled in the "bare" spots with seedlings. With the growth throughout the four rows, I had to change up my protective covering of the sunflower seedlings at night.

Lowe's Liners and Weed Barrier Cloth Protecting Sunflower Seedlings ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 12, 2014 pm

I've been using the three lengths of the black weed barrier cloth to cover the three rows of sunflower seedlings. The cloth is light enough to carefully place one length centered over the seedlings. In my fourth row, with the least growth, I have used four Lowe's liners. I am contemplating purchasing another roll of weed barrier cloth so that I can have one length for each of the four rows.

Each evening and morning, with the put down and take up of the protective covering, it has been a little workout with the placement of the brick pavers.

Sunflower Seedlings Prospering at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014

I took that last photo right after I removed the weed barrier cloth in the morning. That's fifteen days of putting down and taking up the protective coverings! You can see that the sunflower seedlings -- er, sunflower plants -- are prospering at thirty days. Compare that growth to the sunflower seedlings of six days! Quite a difference.

This experience is all thanks to Burpee! I started with their sunflower seeds in 2013 and then harvested my own seeds. This year's sunflower garden is from my harvested seeds entirely! This year, I'm anxious to see if I can attain the same heights of seven to eight feet along with the beautiful array of sunflower blossoms. Gosh, I wonder when we will see that first blossom and will it be yellow or orange or red?

Hey, why not make a little sunny magic in your garden. Start with Burpee Sunflower Seeds available at Amazon. I suggest picking a variety of at least three different packages. Try the taller ones like I did!

Sunflower Seedlings at Twenty-Three Days

It is measurement time for the sunflower seedlings in my flower garden! As of April 6, 2014, it has been twenty-three days since I planted the sunflower seeds. On the sixth day, March 20th, the sunflower seedlings first emerged or broke ground. Today, the 23rd day since the sunflower seed planting, I did my first measurements on the seedlings growth.

It is really curious that the most growth is being seen in the fourth row; the last row in which I planted the seeds!

Sunflower Garden Four Rows of Seedlings at 23 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 6, 2014 - 9:56am

Here is the sunflower garden on the twenty-third day. There is actually good growth throughout all four rows; however, the exceptional growth in the fourth row makes it look like those other rows are slackers!

SUNFLOWER SEEDLING MEASUREMENTS

Drumroll for the moment of truth! How big are the sunflower seedlings?

Sunflower Seedling Height of Six Inches at 23 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 6, 2014

The most height attained above ground is pretty much six inches and a hair. The sunflower seeds were planted a bit deeper this year, but the best growth is from the seedlings in the rows where the digging critter initially uprooted them.

Sunflower Seedling Width of Six Inches at 23 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 6, 2014

The widest width of the prospering sunflower seedlings is six to seven inches! Yes, many of the sunflower seedlings are wider than tall. Thankfully, the stems are thickening up to support the top heavy weight of the leaves. Using the black weed barrier cloth to cover the seedlings at night hasn't affected their posture so to speak. That is, they are all standing up pretty erectly.

Sunflower Seedling Width of Seven Inches at 23 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 6, 2014

The biggest sunflower seedlings are in the part of the fourth row that was the first seedlings dug up by the critters. I guess it is a mixed blessing - a positive and negative.

Sunflower Seedling Width of Six Inches at 23 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 6, 2014

As you can see, there are a lot of different sunflower seedlings clumped together. I'd rather have more than not enough!

SUNFLOWER SEEDLINGS BACKUP

Since I wasn't really sure how well my harvested sunflower seeds from my first garden would grow, I did three pots of sunflower seedlings as a backup.

Sunflower Seedlings in Backup Pots at 23 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 6, 2014

Each morning, I uncover the three pots and bring them out into the sun on the brick patio at the back of my house. To the right, you can see the weed barrier cloth drying. The digging critter also found the two rectangular pots and did a bit of digging. The growth is probably average to above average in those two pots.

Sunflower Seedlings in Flower Pot at 23 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 6, 2014

There are two sunflower seedlings in the round flower pot. The larger one is a good seven inches wide from left to right and five-and-a-half inches wide top to bottom on the leaves. It is only about five inches tall.

I will continue to cover the sunflower seedlings at night for a little while longer. Fingers crossed that the digging critters go elsewhere! Like maybe China??

So, have I interested you at all in planting your own flower garden? May I heartily recommend to you, Burpee Sunflower Seeds! You can find a good variety at Amazon. And, be sure to check out my Sunflower Seedlings at Thirty Days!