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We will have to buy some mulch
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The poor pups had a late dinner tonight and they certainly let me know they were not thrilled it was late. Gavin scolded me as I washed and refilled the water dishes. This ritual marks dinner time in his eyes. Patty ran from the kitchen to the living room several times. There she’d sit in front of her dish stand for a second before returning to join Gavin in sassing me. What does this have to do with buying mulch you ask?
I finally cleared the mulch pile from the driveway today. I moved seven wheel barrow loads of wet mulch. I mulched the entire side garden, half of the garden under the Tulip poplar, and a bit of the back garden along the fence. I didn’t finish until after seven and that’s why the dogs were disgusted with me.
I figure we’ll need to buy about five bags worth of mulch to cover the parts of the gardens that I didn’t cover today. Unless, the neighbor’s son just happens to have another truck load of mulch to get rid of, of course.
Tired doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. My legs burn, my back is sore, but I’m happy. Tomorrow I’ll clean the house…yeah, sure like that’s going to happen.
Posted in my garden
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
The green stalker
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I have a stalker. It seems I can’t weed the gardens now without feeling as though I’m being watched. Yes, that creepy sensation of eyes boring into your back that makes you turn to see who it is. Slowly I turn and, and, and….
GAH! He has webbed feet and a green complexion. It’s Goliath Frog. He’s crept up behind me and is waiting for me to toss him some worms. I can’t go anywhere near the gardens now without his sudden appearance near me. Yes, I’ve told him I won’t kiss him, I’ve already found my prince.
The idea of a stalker frog cracks up Dear Hubby. I’ve had to prove it to him. This man knows that bull frogs are smart — he told me about them using a dead bird as bait for a fly feast. Yeah, I know. How gross!
I’ve seen them stalk and catch starlings. We now have six big bullfrogs and three medium sized ones. However, Goliath makes the five other large frogs look small. I’m hoping that one day we can find tadpoles for the pond that will produce small frogs. I’m tired of relocating bullfrogs.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
More mulch please
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Five more wheel barrows of mulch are in the garden, which brings the count to fifteen. I pulled so many weeds the last couple of days that I filled a thirty gallon trash can. And, I’ve only done the pond garden. Geez! I hope to begin the side garden and I’m betting there’s at least two more thirty gallon cans worth of weeds there.
Heaven knows how many wheel barrows full of mulch it will take. I only hope that I don’t run out before I’m done. If I run out, I’ll have to go buy some. The mountain of mulch in the driveway now looks as though I’ve been removing some. It’s down to half the size it was after my neighbor’s son dumped it there.
I’m not sure if the frogs like the change. They seem to be staying in the pond more, but then that could be because the yard is dry right now. Maybe I’ll get a chance to take some pictures of the gardens this week.
In the pond garden, I’ve trimmed back the baby’s breath, cut down the remnants of the oriental lilies, removed some iris, put in the variegated yucca plant my cousin gave me, and moved one of the day lilies.
Posted in my garden
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
Hard work never hurt me
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We had a very hot, humid day today and like a fool, I went out to work in the gardens. At least I waited until the afternoon when the sun was off the area I planned to work in. I weeded and trimmed back the overgrown baby’s breath and a few other flowers. Then I hauled three overloaded wheel barrow loads of mulch from the driveway to the pond garden and got that put down. I still have a ton of work to do but at least I can see some progress now.
Around six thirty Dear Hubby came outside. He took one look at me and told me to quit before I had a heat stroke. I can’t help it if I sweat like a horse. It doesn’t have to be in the 90’s for me to look as if I just stepped out of a shower when I’m working. I know, ew tmi!
All this hard work will be worth it and I’ll be sure to take pictures and add them to my garden and pond page.
Posted in my garden
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
August already?!
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It’s hard to believe that it’s August already. This summer has swooped past at top speed. We were lucky that for the most part the weather was mild. However, that does make one wonder what this winter will be like.
My gardens are now full of marigolds from last year’s seed heads, red sage, purple Echinacea, multicolored snap dragons, and the mums are beginning to bloom. As I dead head flowers, I have a habit of dropping the seeds from all my annuals right onto the ground. I have been lucky to have the flowers return each year. It saves me a fortune since I haven’t had to buy these annuals for several years now.
I spent several hours weeding the pond garden and trimming back the Lizard Tail in the pond. The Lizard Tail is in a pot on a shelf in the pond. It was getting huge and taking up a lot of space both in and out of the pond.
The Koi seem happy that I trimmed back the Lizard Tail but I think the frogs are upset that they lost some hiding places. They’ll get over it.
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, 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, Ponds, Writer, Writing
The weeds and frogs didn’t miss me
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It’s hot, humid, and miserable outside. I can’t go out to weed the garden because when I go outside I can’t breathe. All I do is cough up my lungs. The weeds don’t mind, they are gleefully invading every area I didn’t get to mulch. (This is most of the gardens.)
My neighbor’s son gave us a half truck load of lovely mulch before I went on my road trip. He dumped it in the middle back section of our driveway. I’m dying to get that black gold into the gardens. Maybe next week when I’m fully recuperated and have enough energy to get at the weeds.
Our bullfrogs haven’t minded that I’m seldom outside lately. In fact, they’ve become quite bold. Tonight there were two close to the back porch steps catching bugs under the light. It was a shame I had to take the dogs out and in doing so scare them. However, it was funny to watch them scurry for the pond and leap into it.
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, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
Taking a break for the ROADTRIP!
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The suitcase is packed, the car will be loaded tomorrow, and then I’ll be on my way. In the meantime, I hope you all have a good time while I’m gone. I’ll post when I get home.
Dear Hubby is in charge of the house and dogs while I’m gone—I hope to heaven the dogs behave for him. They can be a handful when I’m not around. (When the alpha dog’s away…and all that.) Hey, I even have an ‘Alpha Dog’ T-shirt and DH bought it for me.
I’ve left DH a list—it’s not long, just reminders as to what to do with the dog’s water, the fish, and to remember to water the potted vegetable garden and the flowers in the pots on the front porch every afternoon once the sun is off them. I know him, without a list he’d forget to water the plants. He wouldn’t add the cider vinegar to the dog’s water, which, by the way, has cleared up Gavin’s chronic ear infection. So we don’t want to stop doing that do we? He’d also ignore the fish and they’d have to live on algae—they would not be pleased.
Posted in Dog related, MS related, My blog, 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, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
The gardens needed the rain
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It was almost time to drag out the hose and water the gardens. After so much rain there for a while, we had a nice dry spell, but we were due for some rain. The rain began around seven tonight and I’m jumping in here in between storm cells.
During one break between downpours, I went outside with the flashlight and checked around the pond. Dear Hubby calls this doing my frog count because I always tell him how many I’ve seen after I do my walk around each night. They certainly were active in the yard tonight. I think they were enjoying the rain. I counted nine bullfrogs. I don’t often see more than four or five most nights.
One small bullfrog took my presence as a threat. He panicked, screamed, and took off as if the hounds of hell were on his water tight butt. The poor thing careened into a plastic coffee can (we have it near the pond for the worms I catch to feed the fish), then he bounced off of a piece of slate, took a high flying leap, and landed with a loud splash in the pond. The bigger frogs have more sense.
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, 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, Ponds, Writer, Writing
You know the animals are spoiled when…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The dogs bark at you when dinner isn’t in their dishes by five-thirty at the latest and you hurry up to give it to them.
The neighbor’s cat looks at you, at his treats, then at you again, and you give him some.
The Koi beg for worms as soon as you walk near the pond so you go dig some out of the compost heap.
The frog expects you to throw him some worms when you are feeding them to the Koi and you do it.
The squirrels jump on the neighbor’s screen door when the corn cob she puts out for them is empty and she brings them a fresh cob.
The poodle across the street expects you to have cookies in your pocket and you do.
The basset hound whose owner walks him by on a regular basis wants to take a water break at your house on hot days and you have the dish filled and ready.
The cat birds clean the blueberries off the bushes right under your nose, and you don’t chase them away. Instead, you sigh, and think it’s a good thing you have bags of frozen blueberries in the freezer.
Posted in Dog related, 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, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Goliath Frog and the remake of ‘The Birds’
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Late this afternoon I was settling in to do some writing. I’d opened my book file, found where I’d left off, and began to work. It’s been so lovely around here during the day we haven’t had to close up the house and turn the A/C on. Therein lies the rub.
With everything opened I can hear all that goes on outside. I was quite enjoying the sounds of the birds. That is until they began to screech, squawk, and scream bloody murder. I went out the back door to see what the heck was causing of all this dismay among the birds. I should’ve known. I should’ve guessed.
One of our bullfrogs has decided that flies, bees, worms, and large moths aren’t enough. He now has his eye on our feathered friends. We call him Goliath Frog. Goliath Frog mooches worms when I’m feeding them to the Koi. Goliath Frog is fat he’s far from starving. When I walked out into the yard, I saw a large flock of screaming starlings and grackles trying to aid a full grown starling who happened to have Goliath Frog attached to his tail feathers. The bird was flapping about the pond making a gallant effort to lose the frog.
Goliath Frog wasn’t ready to give up. He had hold of his stomach’s desire. The other birds were shrieking and flapping their wings, making dives at the determined amphibian. Finally, the bird shook Goliath Frog loose and flew for the wires over the alley. For a moment, I thought I was in a scene from Hitchcock’s The Birds. There were starlings and grackles by the hundreds on the wires and in the trees. They must have come from miles around in answer to the distress calls of the now almost tail featherless starling, AKA Goliath Frog’s intended supper. It’s almost time for Goliath Frog to take a trip. He can join our other bird eating bullfrogs, Frogadile and Frogzilla at the river.
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, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
I’m no sugar and spice girl.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I’m not a girly girl. I never have been, never will be. Proof of that hit me yesterday when my neighbor’s son came to the gate and told me he’d found a bunch of worms for the Koi. I let him in, we went over to the pond, and I asked him if he wanted to feed the fish. Nope, he didn’t want to handle the worms. He handed me the large plastic drink cup in which he had them contained. I giggled. I couldn’t help myself. I was trying to figure out how he’d picked up the worms without handling them.
I was always a tom boy. I started fishing as soon as I was able to hold a fishing pole. If we went fishing with Grandpa or my Father, we had to bait our own hooks. Worms don’t bother me. I remember chasing a cousin or two with a nice big night crawler.
I remember when the boys in school would try to scare me with a snake or a mouse and I didn’t scream and run. Instead, I’d squeal, “Oh, how cute! Can I hold it?” Picture their disappointed little faces.
When I came in from playing outside, much to my mother’s chagrin, I was as filthy as all the neighborhood boys were. Dad thought it was a hoot.
Have a happy and safe 4th of July!
Posted in 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, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Big city wild critters
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Wild critters wander this big city at night. At least they do around my neighborhood. Tonight I had a skunk trot along behind me as I walked into my back porch. You’d better believe I closed the door quick. He was within two feet of me. I’m so glad he didn’t spook and spray. That would not have been fun. The dogs would’ve barked at me for days. Dear Hubby would’ve laughed his assets off while handing me tomato juice and a bucket. I would’ve been mad as hell because I’m wearing my best jeans.
A couple of weeks ago a neighbor had to kill an opossum who had somehow managed to get his teeth stuck in the wire fencing that’s beside their house. The critter was truly stuck. He didn’t want to kill it but there was no way he could free it easily. As it was, he had to cut the fencing to get the critter off it.
We’ve seen deer, raccoons, and hawks of all sorts, tons of rabbits and squirrels, ducks, Canadian geese, wild turkeys and even a pheasant or two near our home. DH says that when he was a child they had foxes roaming about. I think the only wild critter we haven’t seen in our neighborhood is a bear. We are NOT out in the country. We are smack dab in the center of Pennsylvania’s third largest city.
Posted in Misc
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, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
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