New Normal for October?

The weather is unusually warm. No, hot. The Twin Cities marathon was cancelled last year due to heat, and while it won't be cancelled this year, it's pretty hot. I feel bad for the runners. It has me wondering if this is the new normal. If it is, I need to re-consider how I do things, including cutting back annuals so they look less straggly this month. I haven't had the heart to cut back and clean up. And last night 3.3 million birds migrated overhead, according to BirdCast, so it's good to have those seed heads for them. The planter above has lemon grass and strawberry mint with seed heads. (Basil in there, too, but the other two plants have taken over.)

The bubblegum petunias are pretty much in seed-making mode, so there are fewer flowers. Again, I need to but them back twice in a year compared to the one time. The cosmos below are flopping over, too tall for the weight of flowers and seeds up top. 

I refreshed the mulch by cutting back weeds, laying down cardboard, and adding wood mulch. However, I didn't get enough mulch so some cardboard peaks through. I'll fix it in spring. 

The basil is going strong. The wire protects the newly planted garlic bulbs. I lost a couple the past two years with squirrels digging. This seems to help. I'm not watering them yet since it's so warm they'll start growing. Cooler weather is in the forecast starting the 6th. 

Here's a tiny pea pod and one blossom. It's pretty warm for them. We'll see what happens.

The butterflies love the zinnia flowers, and the birds are eating the seeds. Or maybe the bugs going for the flowers. Behind the zinnias, I have a large platter of shallow water that I keep topped up for the birds, which is popular. Hopefully, this weather gives migrating birds a boost.