Category Archives: my garden
favorite garden pictures
Out like a lamb
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The old adage held true around here. March did come in roaring like a lion and it looks as though it will tip toe out of here like a lamb. We did get some rain yesterday and today which we needed. It was getting to the point where I thought I might have to water the gardens.
I’m happy that it was a cool and misty day because I didn’t feel as though I was missing anything by not being able to get out into yard. The rain did push some of my daffodils into opening. The gardens are looking nice even though I haven’t had time to get out there and do a major cleaning of the beds. (Geez, that sounded like another laundry day.)
I’m hoping our magnolia tree waits to bloom until there’s no danger of frost. I hate to see the blossoms get frosted and brown in one night.
Tonight the sky was clear and you could see the stars. I enjoyed the sight when I took the pups for their late night last out. The air was cool and fresh and a heavy dew had coated the lawn.
I can’t wait until it’s warm enough to sit outside at night.
Posted in Dog related, my garden
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
I need to get out the camera and the rake
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I was out puttering in the garden by the pond today. The crocus are so gorgeous I should get some pictures of them. I might wait until the daffodils begin to bloom they are loaded with buds right now. However, with my luck the crocus will be finished blooming by then.
I need to drag out the rake and clear the leaves from all the gardens. The rhubarb is starting to peek out of the ground so I did clear the leaves away from the plants. I can’t wait until it is ready to pick, rhubarb custard pie here I come! All the blueberry bushes are loaded with buds. I’m relieved I was worried that the bitter cold we had this winter might have killed them. The yard is greening up and it looks nice.
Gavin and Patty have been kicking up their heels in this weather. The pups have been looking for the squirrels and rabbits to chase but I think the critters wised up and when they hear the back door open, they dash out of the yard. I had to re-home a small garter snake yesterday. The snake was heading for the pond, Gavin stepped on it and he didn’t even notice it. The snake no longer resides in our yard.
On another note Dear Hubby took the basket I made into his mother today. She was delighted with it.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Of mourning doves and dogs
Posted by doggonedmysteries
My dogs aren’t supposed to be bird dogs. It’s not something that BTs were bred for but lately you’d think they were. For some odd reason I have two mourning doves who are hanging around the pond. After several days of them taking flight from under Gavin and Patty’s noses, the dogs are looking for the dumb birds, even pointing them. I say dumb birds because they don’t go far and return to the same place as soon as we walk away from the pond.
The dogs know I have a strict rule of no birds, no chasing them, no hunting them, and no killing them. But what’s a dog to do when they no longer fly away but run along in front of them? (If you recall from an earlier post, I won’t let the pups run loose in the yard until we can repair the fence this summer.) The doves are driving the pups crazy with this ground hugging nonsense. Although I think if the birds took flight, it’d really chafe under their collars.
Every time we go out now, they drag me to the pond where they will point out the doves. I keep telling them they aren’t bird dogs they’re BTs. I think they are suffering from delusions of Setter grandeur or Brittany fantasies.
Posted in Dog related, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
MIL update, Gavin, and miscellaneous thoughts
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Dear Hubby’s mother has come down with a cold but she’s still working hard in her daily PT. The feisty old gal is quite resolute about getting out of the Rehab Hospital. It’s been a little over a month since her fall and she is showing no lack of determination. Dear Hubby is there every day while she does her PT, which I think is a great help in motivating her.
Gavin’s ear looks good and he’s been enjoying daily romps with Patty. Although, now when she gets a bit nippy around his ears she does get a scolding. You can practically see her roll her eyes at you. “Geez, I can’t grab his ears and you yell at me for dragging him around by his collar. What’s a girl to do?” The no collar rule stems from having to buy Gavin new ones too many times after she’d chewed through them (while they were still on his neck.)
We had a gray drizzly day today but it was warm. In between sprinkles, I did some clean up work on the pond. I won’t be able to do the major work until spring is in full blast.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Fish, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
March, an amazing month
Posted by doggonedmysteries
A few days ago, we had snow on the ground and today the mercury hit seventy degrees. I love the capriciousness of March. It’s the Yin and Yang month of the year. Winter and spring battle for four weeks. We root for spring to win since by March we’ve had enough of winter.
Tomorrow spring will rule for most of the day but winter will make a raid on our evening. We will wonder if spring will rally in the next few days. My budding gardens say yes. Grass is slowly showing signs of life. Faster would nice so I don’t have dogs tracking in mud.
The Koi are hungry they beg for food now, and our frogs are beginning to creep out of the pond to hunt, more signs that spring will soon win the battle.
It won’t be long and I’ll be digging in sun warmed soil planting flowers and vegetables. By my back door, my chives are starting to peek through the mulch in their pot. The mint and lavender will soon follow suit.
Posted in hobbies, Misc, My blog, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Fish, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Spring fever
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I do wish that spring would stop teasing us and stay for more than a day or two. It was almost balmy here for a day and now there’s snow predicted for the next two. It’s just wrong.
My daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths are beginning to poke their little green heads up through the mulch. It makes me oh so ready for the weather to warm, the flowers bloom, to open the windows and let the fresh air in. I yearn for my magnolia tree to bloom and for the scent to drift into the house.
I look forward to days warm enough for me to clean up the yard and gardens and to nights where I can sit by the pond and relax in the moonlight. I want to listen to the waterfall and fountains, the bullfrogs and crickets, the horn of a passing train in the distance.
I’m tired of hearing the furnace running, the radiator pipes cracking and popping, breathing stale air, and feeling shut in. I’m sick of ice, snow, sleet, and cold.
Posted in My blog, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Happy pups and a Red Tailed visitor
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It’s been nice to have a couple of days where I didn’t have to shuffle dogs. I could tell Gavin and Patty were happy with it too. They sure did miss being in direct contact with each other the last two weeks. How could I tell? They spent a great deal of time snuggled together on the couch today.
During one trip outside Gavin and I were visited by the neighborhood Red Tailed hawk. The hawk chased a small bird into the next door neighbor’s maple tree and missed catching it. Then he looked over, spotted us, ruffled his feathers, and settled down on the branch as if to say, “I meant to do that.” It’s something I’ve seen cats do, but never a bird. We watched him and he watched us. I was wishing I had my camera.
The hawk looks well fed. I hope that means he’s taken advantage of our huge population of rabbits and squirrels. We won’t miss them around here since our gardens are often overrun with the critters . Mr. Red Tail wasn’t in any hurry to leave. When I took Gavin in and brought Patty out, he was still on his perch.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, my garden
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Frost and squirrels in the forecast
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I’d hoped to squeeze another week out of the nice weather before I had to dig out some of my more delicate plants. It didn’t happen. Last night we had frost. Now I have to find the time and energy to dig out all my black elephant ears and calla lilies.
Today I had planned to move some of my tulip bulbs to another part of the garden. However, after discovering a trail of bulb crumbs that led to the base of the magnolia tree, I found that the squirrels had beaten me to them. They had not only dug up and eaten the tulip bulbs, but they’d buried peanuts in their place. Someone is feeding the tree rats again. Not only have I found buried peanuts but also there have been walnuts, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts. The squirrels raided my tomatoes. They absconded with all we had left on the plants. All of them still green, but we’d looked forward to having those fried. They even sampled one of my jalapeño peppers. The blasted tree rats are eating better than we are.
The pups keep trying to catch the squirrels but have found gravity doesn’t help them when it comes to climbing trees.
We’ve begun to prepare the pond for the winter. Sometime this week I’ll drag the netting from the back porch to cover the pond and keep out most of the leaves. I’d better hurry because the leaves are dropping faster than the temperature. We found out that we have to keep the netting raised about three or four inches from the ground, so the frogs can move about until they go into hibernation. Last year the bullfrogs were not amused when we had some temperate weather and they couldn’t leave the pond to hunt. I had to raise the edges of the netting to allow them access.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, my garden
Tags: Author, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Disability, Dogs, Fiction, Fish, Gardening, Gardens, Koi, Life, Multiple Sclerosis, Mysteries, Mystery, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
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