Thank you both for the warm wishes. I wished Brian a happy birthday from everyone. We really didn't have a lot of plans made. It's so rare that we get time together that we sort of lived it up the last time the kids went away for a few days. We basically spent the entire day sleeping and watching TV. We did grill some nice fat steaks though which sure did beat eating out. Little did we know how much we would need that rest come Saturday. We actually ended up having to drive to Georgia to go pick the kids up. It's supposed to be a 3.5 hour drive but apparently there was a wreck on our way there. I never saw evidence of a wreck but needless to say we left at 1pm and didn't get there until almost 8pm. There were people all along the road overheated and broke down from waiting in the traffic. Our car has a radiator leak in it and I was certain we were next. BLAH? Anyway, fortunately we got through it with the heat blaring uneventfully and at least we got to laze around the Chattahoochee for a while afterward and I officially saw my sister off. She will be going to China in a week so this will be the last time I see her for at least six months. As far as kids and school goes, I home school so we just finished testing and I have to send their tests in this week. Not quite uneventful this time of year but I am happy to not have to attend open houses and all of the other complexities of starting public school. I think I would go into sensory overload. I admire those who can deal with it heh. ANYWAY..(babble babble) I went ahead and dug up a few of those sunflowers tonight and I'll get that dusty miller out of the ground tomorrow sometime. They will be in the dirt they were planted in which is our marvelous Carolina clay but they both grow magnificently in it. I'll have to go through my emails. I think I am suppose to bring you some other stuff and I'll make sure to get that together as well. Fran - They are calling for it to rain all week.. not that what they call for makes a difference here lately but... whenever you'd like to stop by and get a piece you are welcome. I'm best after 5pm haha. You are close enough to me though that you'd probably do better getting some in the spring. I have little pieces to share here and there right now but in the spring I usually ditch a whole bunch of it while thinning it out and moving it around. With as big as my yard is, it really isn't cultivated enough to move much around and I don't want it in the big flower bed anymore so I pass it along in huge clumps to anyone who will take it.

I am going to venture an educated guess based on my experience with dune sunflowers. Just my hunch. Years ago I lived on the water where the soil was almost pure sand. The drainage was perfect. The duneflowers thrived without irrigation and bloomed ten months of the year. Even there, they looked a bit ragged if we had long bouts of very rainy weather. I loved those dune sunflowers and have tried to replicate that success. I no longer live on the water and my soil, although started out very poor, through adding organic material, has improved. I tried them again this year and although during the dry season they looked pretty good (not great, great), in the last month they are turning brown in areas and the flowers are small. I am about to pull them completely. Mind you, they are in an area that does not get irrigated and is an elevated bed. I would guess that yours are having similar problems. They are getting much more water than they like (rain and humidity, maybe even irrigation), making them prone to diseases and pests. The tilling temporarily disturbs the natural drainage created by creatures that live in the soil (earthworm tunnels, etc.). The tarp increases the moisture in the underlying ground. I don't think any amount of spraying will make them better. I think dune sunflowers need very consistently poor, dry soil with excellent drainage and as much sun as they can get. They may look good at the beginning, but consistent moist, rich dirt will make them sick and pest prone. Just my hunches. Maybe someone else has other ideas. They sure are pretty and worth trying. Anna

This may sound dumb - I would be more upset that she was out in the garden when she should be babysitting. Just tell her that he job is to watch the kids. Time for a new sitter, \ anyway - sunflowers can be planted next year!

"If the spots don't move..." LOL, good one, Jean! Here's a rust infected leaf for you to compare. Looks like the same thing to me, too. Here is a link that might be useful: