A sweet sunflower popped up to 2 feet, right on my burn pile. I had to move it, it would burn; but knew it was a bad bet. Poor thing was just a withered up mess the next morning. Should I dump it or could it rejuvinate itself?

Aw -- sorry to say, but I would dump it, Laurie. Maybe plant a sunflower seed in its memory in the spot that you were going to move it to. (Or do as my resident chipmunk has been doing and plant a whole handful of seeds in one spot! )

I love plants that just "pop up" in unexpected places... which explains why my veggie garden is always kind of a mess

It looks tattered, but many leaves are perking up. I was not expecting that. Looks like I will be watering an ugly duckling for a while, lol.