Backyard mystery ...

I have a backyard mystery

unlike the mystery last year with the strange animal droppings

(turned out it was a deer jumping our fence)

So here it is.....last year a friend gave me some seeds for

a periennal vine. I planted them in a pot of dirt on the deck and they

sprouted within a week. So we dug a big hole by the fence, and

transplanted the seedlings into the ground. As the vine grew, we trained

it to go along the fence. It was beautiful all spring, summer and fall.

it has very dainty little purple flowers that almost look like orchids.

when the flowers die, they form into a seed pod and dry up

In February, I pulled most of the seed pods off of the vine

that was still entangled in the fence. Took the seeds to work to

share with my co-workers. 

So this past weekend, Johnny and I were looking around to make sure

everything in that area was coming back.....yep, there's the peonies, all 3 of them looking great peeking through the dirt. Butterfly bush...very nice and full. Then we go to check on the vine and it was gone! No longer were the dried out runners entwined on the fence and there was a big hole where we had planted it last year. What the heck...

at first we thought maybe the dogs dug it up but there would have been

traces of the vines....and there were no vines laying around.

and the hole is dug up too perfect to be the work of my

little doggies.

I still had a couple of the seed pods at work so I'm going to plant

those and try again....

and no, I haven't seen evidence of deer so it wasn't them!

later.....